Bard vs Noir
by Lord Belgarion and Post
Summary: Two universes come together with two unlikely heroes. Bard and Noir must determine the fate of the Titans. TS & TBE Xover. [Ch 1-6: The universes are mixed. The cowboy and the swordsman clash.]
1. Prologue: The Breach

In the City.

West of Downtown and besides a shattered overpass.

Groups of construction sites eclipsing the damage caused by Dagger's infamy were scattered abroad.

They formed a halo around the former site of Phaser Labs, leveled to the ground.

And replaced with a new building. A fresher one. A cleaner one. One which would hopefully hold new promises for a safer and happier future….

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Inside Phaser Labs…

In a lone, downstairs laboratory.

A dark-haired man of medium stature sat at a computer console attached to a power conduit. The conduit housed a cylinder with a pulsating, ivory light within.

With thin, shaking hands he eagerly adjusted a few dials and leaned in towards a mic. He swallowed, adjusted his labcoat, and absent-mindedly straightened a name-tag displaying: _'Ryan'_.

"Greetings. Can anyone out there hear me? Respond. Can anyone hear my voice?"

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Jump City.

STAR Labs.

Resting under an immaculate, blue sky.

A dwelling well protected.

A neighborhood living within the cool shadow of a Tower far off across the waters.

A wall bordering a construction site displayed wanted posters for Slade and Brother Blood, but other than that the streets were full of content, safe pedestrians.

And inside the bowels of STAR Labs within the center of it all…

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A lone, dark laboratory.

A man of average height with close cropped brown hair sat at a computer console attached to a power conduit. The conduit housed a cylinder with a pulsating, ivory light within.

'_Greetings. Can anyone out there hear me?"_ the computer console crackled forth through speakers. _"Can anyone hear my voice?"_

The scientist took a deep breath. He adjusted a pair of big, wide glasses on his face and leaned forward with a rustle of his white labcoat. A name-tag displayed: _'Ray'._

"I read you loud and clear," the young scientist uttered into the mic. "This is Ray from Star Labs: Jump City Division. Over."

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Ryan's mouth was agape. He leaned back in his chair as the words filtered forth from his fluctuating computer console. A murmuring voice accompanied the blinking of his eyes.

"Jump City…," he breathed. "Oh my god. The data wasn't fooling me. That's the name of it! That's the name of it in their…."

He fumbled for words…until he realized that he was speaking to himself.

Gradually, he snapped out of it and leaned back forward to his mic and uttered:

"Greetings, Ray from STAR Labs of Jump City! This is Ryan of Phaser Labs!" He glanced over at an instrument panel on his computer. "Tell me—"

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"—_what does your atomic chronometer say at present exactly?"_

Ray blinked, his excitement giving away momentarily to panic.

"Atomic chronometer?"

He typed madly at the keyboard. The computer screen brought up something before him.

"Oh my god…," the STAR Labs scientist uttered into the mic. "Ryan! I can't get an accurate reading! It's fluctuating wildly!"

"_Keep it steady! Maintain the Quantum Flux to at least—_"

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"—ninety percent!" Ryan adjusted his own tools on the computer console as he spoke into the mic. "The Chronometer should no longer be effected! While you're at it…," he typed madly at the keyboard. "…I'm relaying my GPS coordinates to you."

A few more keystrokes.

A breath.

He stared past the mic as if eyeing a foreign neighbor beyond the invisible veil.

"Please…tell me—"

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_"—as soon as you get these findings! Ryan out."_

Ray's fingers were already a flurry over his identical console.

"All right, Ryan! I've got the chronometer steady," he panted. He glanced at the screan. "…and I'm receiving your GPS coordinates."

As the information splashed across the screen, they reflected off of Ray's glasses. The image bled through to his eyes and registered in his brain and splashed forth in a grin. "We have a match."

"_My god….do you realize what this means?" _

Ray was blinking. "Oh sweet Mary…"

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"We have broken it. The barrier!" Ryan practically shook at his console and nearly swallowed the mic. "The cross-dimensional barrier has been breached!"

The voice on the other side broke out laughing.

Merrily.

"_YES! Everyone thought it was impossible…but we did it, Ryan! We did it!"_

Ryan too was laughing happily. "Ha ha ha ha!" He cheered. "Wooo!"

There was a sudden echo of high heels clicking.

From behind the back of the Phaser Labs scientist, a young, blonde assistant walked up and planted a hand on her hip.

Lisa. The intern. With blue eyes she glared inquisitively at the back of Ryan's head.

"Doctor…," Lisa spoke. "What's going on? I heard you—"

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"—shouting. Are you all right?"

An obviously _redheaded_ Lisa spoke to Ray's back in the basement of STAR Labs.

"I thought maybe—"

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"—the computer console was short circuiting again!" finished the blonde in Phaser Labs.

Ryan swiveled around in his chair. Joyous.

"Ha!" cackled he. "If only! Can you believe it, Lisa! It works!"

Lisa blinked suspiciously. "What works?"

"Ray and I have have finally managed to," Ryan said to the blonde.

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"Ryan and I have finally managed to," Ray said to the redhead.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

"—join the frequencies of our Quantum Flux regularities! We are now engaging in the first recorded—"

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"—conversation between two people in neighboring universes! The atomic chronometers and GPS coordinates match! This is—"

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"—unbelievable!" Ryan finished with a wave of his arms and a sigh. "Do you have any idea!"

The blonde Lisa blinked across the lengths of Phaser's underground laboratory. She regarded the flashing white cylinder that was the Quantum Flux Regulator with quasi-disdain.

"……neighboring universes, huh?" muttered she.

"Erm…," Ryan sweatdropped. "…quantum realities. Paralel dimensions. Right now—in another, identical plane of existence, there rests a different laboratory in place of this one called—"

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"—Phaser Labs!" Ray enthusiastically beamed. "Right here in Jump City!"

He swiveled and gestured dramatically to the blinking cylinder and the computer array.

Lisa looked on.

And Ray exclaimed: "Do you have any idea of what we've stumbled upon?" He swiveled to face her enthusiastically again. "The possibilities are—"

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"—as endless as…um….um…th-the stars in the sky!" Ryan fumbled for words, but grinned nonetheless. "The grains of sand on the beach!"

Lisa folded her arms.

"That's…um…very poetic," said she.

Ryan smirked coyly, looking at his assistant sideways. "Is it now?"

Lisa blinked.

Ryan then swiveled to face the mic. "Hey Ray?"

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Ray jumped.

"H-Hold on a sec, Lisa…"

He took the mic and stammered into it.

"I read you Ryan, I'm still here."

"_You got a sexy assistant with blonde hair there? Named Lisa?"_

The auburn-headed Lisa blinked.

Ray glanced at her. He blinked. He said into the mic:

"Y-Yeah…but this Lisa has red hair. Why?" His face suddenly washed over with understand. A breath: "Are you saying that…everything in this universe is represented there? Kinda like…a balance?

"……_a red head?"_

Ray simpered. "Yup. As red as….-"

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"_-……um……s-something red……er, over."_

"……..," Ryan amusingly grinned to himself.

Thwump!

Lisa shoved him aside.

"Oof!" Ryan went sliding on the desk chair.

Lisa took the mic. It whined to her touch as she frowned and uttered into the device:

"What's the big idea? Are you nutcases some kind of—"

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"—perverts or something!" the redheaded Lisa growled into the mic.

A dizzy Ray sat in a chair rolled away from her a few feet.

"You're supposed to be scientists!" she said. "Professionals! But here you're acting like—"

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"—kids up in a treehouse with nothing better to do but……make………p-prank calls……," the blonde assistant stopped.

She blinked….for she was hearing the exact same, identical voice spouting out the simultaneous words from the other end of the computer system's speakers. She fumbled for breath, touch of the mic, and just about all her sanity.

Ryan rolled over on his desk chair, grinning.

"Satisfied?" he mused.

"Erhm…," Lisa practically gurgled. "…uh….I…."

Ryan gently pushed her aside and approached the mic again. "Do I stand alone?" said he into the system.

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The redheaded Lisa was sweatdropping as she lingered on the mic.

"Was that…? I mean, was I talking to—"

Ray was smirking. "Yup! Now give me the mic back—"

The redhead leaned forward to the device one last time. "Hey, er, Lisa…do you have a tattoo on your—"

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"Ahem," Ryan cleared his throat.

A beat.

He glanced at Lisa.

The blonde was blushing.

Ryan changed the subject with an energetic exclamation to Ray through the mic: "We've got to tell someone! But where to start? The most elite in my scientific community can't be the same as in yours! How do we coexist? How do we distinguish cultural boundaries between separate dimensions? I mean, this is first contact here!"

"_Cultural boundaries……"_

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Ray sat, adjusting his glasses in thought.

He was pondering and pondering until eventually he said:

"Well, the culture here in the city is largely influenced by the Titans..."

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Slowly, Ryan smiled.

"The Titans…," he said. "….so you have them too. Well that's good." He took a warm breath. "That's very good. All right!" He stood up and held the mic proudly. "We'll call the Titans! That'll make this an orderly thing! If you like, I can go ahead and send a message to their leader Cyborg! Since—"

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_"—Simon Stone's been offline, he'll be glad that something good came out of Phaser Labs!"_

Ray was blinking.

He replied:

"Since when did Cyborg become the leader? Robin didn't go back to Gotham City, did he?" A pause. He murmured to himself: "Stimon Stone?"

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Ryan bit his lip.

"Erm….I….I-I suppose this is going to be a lot more complicated than I thought.

_"Er, r-right! I'll call the Titans down here and we can continue…"_

"Yes, that would be nice," Ryan involuntarily sighed and his eyes glanced aside. "If just to see Robin again."

"_Yes,"_ Ray's voice hesitantly filtered back. _"I-I'm sure he'll come."_

But suddenly….

**THUD! THUD!**

The blonde Lisa gasped.

"?" Ryan turned and looked at the back door to the laboratory.

The frame of the door was shaking, as if someone or something was pounding in from the other side.

Ryan's brow furrowed. "What in the devil?"

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Ray anxiously sat up at his computer station.

Redheaded Lisa leaned over as the spectacled scientist at the machine was suddenly awash with concern.

"What? What is it? You aren't losing the connection, are you!"

"_No, it's not that. It's……"_

_THUD! THUD!_

The pounding sound filtered through the speakers of STAR Labs.

Ray and Lisa shifted uncomfortably as a drunken laugh eerily sounded itself.

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"HA HA HA HA HA!" a muffled voice warbled from beyond the doorframe inside PHASER. "Gang way! Coming through! HA HA HA HA!"

**CRASH!**

The door burst down.

Ryan's and Lisa's eyes widened.

"_Ryan, are you okay?"_ the voice from the other side electronically shook. _"Lisa? Ryan?"_

Ryan's lips quivered and he gasped.

"N-No…."

Into the underground laboratory marched the dark and villainous visage of Johnny Rancid. He twirled rusted chains around in the air and struck a pose with his grimy jeans and black tank top.

"I hear there's some valuable crap in this overinflated rathole! Well out with it! Johnny Rancid's got some debts to pay! Ha ha ha ha!"

Lisa screamed.

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The blonde's distress shattered through the speakers of STAR Labs.

Ray shook where he stood.

The redhead behind him bit her nails.

"Lisa!" Ray exclaimed. He ignored the awkward implications of his words. "Is she okay? Ryan, get the Titans! Can you hear me!"

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"_Contact the TITANS!"_

"I….I…," Ryan fumbled nervously for the emergency relay button. His eyes were locked on Johnny Rancid.

And Rancid's dark eyes were locked on him.

"Oh no you don't, punk!" the villain swung his chains.

SWOOOSH!

They wrapped around Ryan's body.

With a flick of his wrists, Rancid effortlessly tossed Ryan across the laboratory.

THWUMP!

"Ooof!" Ryan gasped, curling up on the metal floor of Phaser and sputtering.

Lisa gasped.

"Heheheh…," Rancid marched over towards the flashing cylinder. "Come to poppa!" He greedily fingered the Quantum Flux Regulator. "Whatever this thing is…I bet it'll buy me a harem on Ebay!"

Ryan stumbled to his feet. "N-No! Don't touch that!" He limped towards Rancid, panting. His white labcoat dangling on his shaking shoulders. "You have no idea how important that is to maintain the structural integrity of this dimension and the next—"

"Hey!" Rancid snapped at him. In a blink of an eye, he had a luger pointing its barrel at Ryan's neck. "Did I tell you to go all Mr. Wizard on my ass? Shut up!"

The blonde Lisa wrung her hands and pleaded: "Someone! Please!"

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"_Do something!"_

Ray nervously panted.

He uttered into the mic of STAR Labs. "Lisa? Can you hear me? Don't panic!" He gulped. He tried: "M-Mister Rancid, er, sir, please listen to me!"

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"_Take anything you want,_" the speakers of the nearby console warbled. _"…but do not mess with this machine! You could-"_

But before the otherworlder's speech could finish, a supremely confuzzled Johnny Rancid blinked and did a double-take. "Whoah…," he turned his head away from where he was aiming his luger and stared at the computer. "Who told HAL here to do ventriloquism?"

Ryan fidgeted. Once. Twice.

"…..!"

He pounced Rancid.

"Dah!" Rancid wrestled with the scientist.

Ryan tried to pry the gun from Rancid's grasp.

The two strungled.

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"_Nnngh!" _

"Augh! Nghh!"

"Leggo! Daagh!"

Ray and redhead Lisa listened.

Eyes wide.

Bodies still.

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On the other side, Rancid got the upper hand.

With a seething growl, he overpowered Ryan and shoved the scientist off.

"Nnngh!"

Ryan stumbled backwards….and slammed into the Quantum Flux container.

_ZAAAAAAAAAAAAP!_

Ryan's eyes went wide.

His entire body convulsed from the bright bands of white energy and hotness.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

The sparks started to grow hotter and hotter and…..burrowed through a pocket in space and time.

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Ray and Lisa heard the agonized scientists from the alternate dimension.

"_AAAAAAAAAAUGH!"_

"NOOOOOOO!" Ray shouted. He turned. He pointed at Lisa. "Lisa, go—"

A flash.

The Quantum Flux container in STAR Labs started to fluctuate.

Suddenly, trans-dimensional bolts of energy from the linked system started to branch out and eat into the laboratory.

And immediately—as if without hesitance—the energy beams converged on Ray and consumed his body in a horrifically familiar fashion to that from beyond the 'veil'.

_ZAAAAAAAAP! _

"AAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Ray shook and shivered and…

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Ryan's body convulsed and smoked and…

As absorbed into the white aura of the container's bright anomaly.

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Ray let out one last shriek as he too was absorbed into the fury.

Lisa screamed, pulling at her red hair.

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Lisa screamed, pulling at her blonde hair.

And Johnny Rancid laughed and cackled at the scene in Phaser Labs.

"Ha ha ha ha! Wooo doggy! Someone get some marshmallows!"

Ryan was completely and utterly absorbed.

The quantum flux sizzled, blinked, and glowed brighter until—

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KERPLUNK!

It dropped to a dead heap at the bottom of STAR Labs.

Ray was completely absorbed.

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In Phaser Labs, Johnny Rancid shuffled over till he stood behind the collapsed container.

He swiftly picked it up.

A dark smirk across his face as he held it up to his eyes.

"Heh…killer….souvenir…."

_**BEEP **_

BEEP

BEEP

Rancid's eyes angrily turned and glared across the domain which was suddenly flashing with a red strobe.

A blonde Lisa leaned limply against the computer console, her fingers pressing hard against the calling button for Titan's Tower.

Rancid merely smiled at her.

Shivering, Lisa frowned. "You've made a bad mistake…," she said.

Rancid hugged the suspiciously glowing container under one arm and aimed the luger at Lisa with his other.

"Heheheh…," he squinted his firing eye. "Don't I know it."

**BLAM!**

* * *

Bard vs Noir

* * *


	2. Noir: City of Grey

Sawgrass peaked between the silent cracks and breaks in the rock bluffs.

The endless trickle and rush of ocean waves lingered around the island.

Under the shadow of a cold-gray sky, the beach outside of Titan's Tower was cold and serene.

Tranquil in the cold breeze of November brushing over the seascape.

It was there that I meditated. Numb to the melancholy morning. Alone with my weapon.

Myrkblade.

SWOOOSH!

I twirled the weapon over my head and gracefully ducked into an outward jab.

THWISH!

A meditative, straining pause on the toes of my boots.

I took a breath.

And-

SWISSSH!

Twirled my entire body with Myrkblade cutting the air.

I ended in a one-legged pose. Angling Myrkblade outward from my shoulder. Slowly, meditatively angling the metal fingers of my left prosthetic along the curve of the wooden katana.

Then-

Th-Th-Th-Thwish!

I twirled Myrkblade out, jabbed, retracted, spun again, and crouched in an awkward pose low to the ground.

Breathing gently.

A bead or two of sweat trickling down my black shades.

The sawgrass danced.

The cold clouds collected gray and gloomy overhead.

The stone reflection of a black-eyed swordsman with a scarred neck and cheek fluctuated far away in the ocean water.

And he felt incredibly, incredibly foreign.

"……"

I swallowed.

A wave of black energy coursed outward from my center. Smoke danced out of my eyes and warbled out from my shades. Murk traveled down my arm, enveloped the sword, and-

FLASH!

I twirled up and froze in the middle of an upswing.

An array of sawgrass parted like the red sea from the power of the black energy discharge.

A momentary shattering of the wind…and soon I realized that my powers weren't the only thing disturbing the peace.

There was a synthetically boisterous 'beating' in the air. A haunting, shellshocked sensation that sent shivers up my spine.

I looked directly upwards.

In cacophonous cadence, three hulking cargo helicopters zoomed over the Bay waters and towards the City skyline beyond. The three carried via a barrage of support cables a huge, glisteningly-white satellite dish bound for Kobayashi Tower. Already I could see cranes and gravity-defying workers converging on the tallest structure in the City. All citizens and all workers and all foreign volunteers worked together to finish one of the biggest reconstruction projects yet.

And yet, merely one of many endless attempts to sew shut the wounds of Dagger's day of destruction here.

On November Fourth.

I took a deep breath.

_It's getting harder and harder to center myself……_

I twirled Myrkblade up to my sheathe, sighed, and slid the sword into hiding.

_CHIIIIIIING!_

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_Dear Diana,_

_Days have passed. Lives have been saved. Homes have been restored. A sense of security has once again washed over this City and those who do their best to protect it. Yet, in spite of all accomplishments, nothing can ever reverse the horrifying truth. **Robin** is dead. The Titans are wounded, and they shall be hurting forevermore because of it._

_And yet, the Titans endure. **Starfire** has decided to remain here on Earth and fight for the team. Her passion for **Robin** when he was alive has been transformed into a righteous vigor to protect her friends as well as the survivors of August Fourth. **Beast Boy** has stayed resolute in his purpose here, though we all secretly know that the recent loss of **Terra** has hurt his spirit deeply. I look forward to seeing him mature in these days to come. **Cyborg** and **Raven** have found a source of solace and purpose in each other that will ultimately preserve them in these troubled times. I know that **Cyborg** will have the tenacity now to lead the new Titans into future arenas of defending justice, embittered as he may be the recent malfunctionings of his cybernetic person. **Raven**'s strength of character never ceases to amaze me, and now more than ever she is strong and supportive for every single one of her companions. **Tempest** has also found his place. The wounds the Atlantean suffered at the hands of Dagger have proven only temporary. It is a miracle that he remains with us…a miracle that **Tempest** himself has recognized and thus counted for joy._

_As for me, Diana, I am supremely glad for all that has lived in spite of all that has died. Our City suffered a lot of casualties during and after August Fourth. Although **Robin** himself is among the lost, his spirit lives on in all of us. His strength and courage and bravery to the bitter end is what empowers me, as surely it empowers all the rest of my teammates. Robin died for the sake of preserving a dream. A dream that life in all of its faculties is precious. Even a life sacrificed, for a sacrificed life never truly dies. It disseminates its energy among those closest to the beating heart of warmth just seconds leading to and following the last sigh of the desperate lungs. **Robin** had a contract to complete. One last goal to accomplish. And—in many shapes and forms—we Titans are to accomplish that goal. And I can't think of a single one of us who would now turn from that destiny. Heroes are born for the very same reason as for why they die. Necessity. Necessity of life. Necessity of justice. And necessity of the pursuit of benevolence._

_It is hard, Diana. It has been hard and it shall continue to be hard. But we are growing. We're no longer the teen superheroes who sparingly stopped bank robberies between visits toe the pizzeria or arcade. We're the Titans. We are the Titans, and we shall protect this City at all costs. With our very own blood. With our very own spirit._

_And with our very own compassion._

_I thank you for your correspondence, Diana. The support of you and the League is beyond blessing. Be assured of the Titans' strength and tenacity. Justice shall endure in this City. And history will prove it._

_Sincerely,_

_Noir_

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"And this, my friends…," **Tempest **smirked as he brought two bowls of a green, steaming broth over and placed them down on the kitchen counter. "…is Seaweed Surprise."

"……….," **Cyborg** and **Raven **blinked. They sat on stools at the kitchen unit of the Tower's Main Room.

"Uhm…..ya know, Flipper." The android Titan simpered and looked up at the Atlantean. "Maybe you should try sharing your homemade green cuisine when _**Beast Boy**_ is around…"

"What?" **Tempest** raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared?"

"Pfft. I'm simply finicky."

"You're scared, ya frickin' toaster! Just try a spoonful!"

"I'm a little put off by the word 'Surprise' in the name," **Cyborg** glared.

**Tempest** shrugged. "It's an English approximation for the entrée's name in the traditional, Renzukkan tongue. _Venz'Dryzzk Klezzykykik._"

"Thar she blows!"

"Shut up! This is stuff that Tram used to cook for me all the time!" A sigh. "Neptune rest his soul…."

"I don't know if you've taken notice….but….," **Cyborg** pointed at himself. "I ain't a walking shellfish!"

"I know! Walking shellfishes know better than to bitch over seaweed soup!"

"Grrrrr…..," **Cyborg** seethed.

"Mmmmm….," hummed a feminine voice.

The two boys looked over. **Tempest** smirked and **Cyborg** sweatdropped.

**Raven** was taking her third sip of the broth. She looked up with calm, blue eyes. A slight curve of her lips. "It's like….sweet spinach with seasoning."

"Whatever that is, I hope it's a good thing," **Tempest** simpered.

"Rghhh…," **Cyborg** dipped a spoon into his bowl with a twist of his face.

"Seriously…," **Raven** droned. "The taste buds of your receptors aren't fried, at least!"

"I know. That's what worries me."

**Tempest** folded his arms. "Well, Mr. Leader, it was you who suggested I start sharing the dinner duties from now on. So this is the best I have to give."

"I was thinking something more along the lines of tater tots…," **Cyborg** muttered.

**Raven** giggled ever so slightly

**Tempest** and **Cyborg** looked at her. A blink.

The Atlantean smirked. "Well, if it means getting a chuckle out of someone like _her_, maybe it's well worth it!"

"I'd say," **Cyborg** winked.

"I'm sorry…," **Raven** digressed after another sip. "But somehow it just….I dunno….seems fitting that you would like tater tots," she nodded at **Cyborg**.

"Why's that?"

"You're like a really big kid in side."

"So that's what makes you swoon, huh?"

"Never mind…," **Raven** shook her head and sighed.

"You like big, robotic kids?"

"I said never mind!"

"Big, gurgling, tin can babies full of motor oil—"

ZAP!

**Cyborg** jolted from his seat. "Dah!"

"That's it…," **Tempest** groaned and reached for the bowls. "Frickin' psychos like you don't deserve the ambrosia of my Seaweed Supr—"

Raven glared.

"……….okay then." The Atlantean simpered. "Well, if you two morons will excuse me……I've got a half-bird of my own to see. Keep the fins damp!" He whistled to himself and wandered off towards the elevator.

**Raven** cleared her throat, curved her lips ever so slightly, and returned to the broth.

**Cyborg** merely leaned his chin against his arm and gazed at her across the counter. "So…like….look who's Miss-Relative-Sunshine!"

"A good soup is worth the endorphins."

"Ah…so maybe that's why you go for tea so much," **Cyborg** smirked. "It's that 'hot liquid' thing that makes you giddy as a schoolgirl inside or something."

**Raven** sipped, swallowed, and looked at him through the corner of her violet eyes. "What's it to you?"

**Cyborg** chuckled and shrugged. "Just trying to figure you out, girl!" He smiled and leaned forward. "I'm always trying to figure you out."

**Raven** twirled the spoon in her fingers and gazed off across the Main Room. "After nearly two years….I suspect it can't be that hard."

"How would you know? Heck, I bet you don't even know half an inch of what goes on in _my_ brain!"

"Besides electrical circuitry?"

"Har har."

**Raven** sipped, swallowed, and pointed: "Corvettes and swimsuit models."

"Pffft!" **Cyborg** waved her off. "Not even close!"

"Yes, but when you combine them?"

"……….," **Cyborg** blinked. "……oye. Let me have some of that damn seaweed."

"Heheh….all right."

"I need to build up my strength…," **Cyborg** muttered. "Lieutenant Smith wants to see us this afternoon."

"For what, pray tell?"

"I don't know. But if it isn't about supplying me some rims for the new T-Car I'm building, we're not gonna be there long."

"How thoughtful and mature of you," **Raven** sarcastically droned between sips. "You're already becoming a leader to put **Robin** to shame. In more ways than one."

"Love you too."

"Feh."

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Later that day…

Along the Downtown strips of the City….

Outside a small diner grooved between the skyscrapers….

"So what's this 'charity' you keep blabbering about?" **Tempest** asked from across the small table.

Lindsay, still in her waitress uniform, sipped from a water bottle and smiled. "Since when have I blabbered?"

"Since I asked you to," **Tempest** smirked.

She rolled her eyes and brushed a brown strand out from across her freckled face. "Our youth pastor at Urban Faith Academy, Edward Smith, has musical connections."

"Musical?"

"Mmmhmm. He used to be part of a country singer group from North Carolina. They traveled from bar to bar singing a bunch of old classics, but pretty much scrimping to survive month by month. Then one rainy evening their van got stuck in the mud of a dirt road outside of some backwater church. He and a few of his buds wandered into the sanctuary during a service to keep dry. The sermon touched Edward's heart, and he gave his life to Christ. He moved north up here to learn to become a pastor, settled in the City, and got involved with Urban Faith Academy."

"Quite an interesting life," **Tempest** nodded. "What's it got to do with some charity?

"Shhh! J-Just….let me!" she hissed.

"Heh heh heh…"

"Anyways," Lindsay pointed. "His old band came back to town soon after November Fourth. And he met with them and they all got to talking and they thought it'd be really nice to have a concert of sorts here in Town to raise money for those who have lost homes or loved ones."

"You don't say…."

"And Pastor Rutland though it was a good idea. So he's given Smith a head start. Some of the head haunchos in the City heard of this, and they think it's a grand idea too. So now Urban Faith has a bunch of flyers being made for this Concert. And there's talk of a news article and a televised announcement to get as many people interested as possible. Already they're saying that there's a positive response all throughout the City. The City Plaza has been scheduled for the location of the concert. And many of the volunteers from out of state already helping in the reconstruction projects have been lending a hand. It's really, really….nice. When you think about it."

**Tempest** folded his arms and smiled. "And I assume you're playing a big part in this."

Lindsay smiled bashfully. "I'm…uhm…part of Smith's team in rounding up his band's connections."

"So it's going to be….a 'country' concert….r-right?" **Tempest** worded carefully.

Lindsay nodded. Another swig of the water bottle. She swallowed and said: "It's kinda hard, actually. Not many country artists seem to stay put around here."

"Go figure."

"But a lot of people in this City love country music. You'd be surprised. Hehehe….I think there're some slickers missing from the 'city'.

"………………..right," the Atlantean blinked.

"Hehehehehe."

**Tempest** raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're cute when you're confused."

"Sorry, I was born underwater. In the Atlantic Basin. That's a long way from Nillie Welson."

"Willie Nelson."

"Who?"

"Never mind," Lindsay shook her head. "Thankfully, my mother's three-quarters redneck. So I grew up listening to the best. I think I've got three of the most 'local' bands signed up already. The other volunteers are doing good too. Lillian's working there. So is Jack. And….uhm…..this really bright girl from out of town. Westhaven I think. What's her name…..Angie? Sally? Well, whoever she is, she wears glasses and is as cute as the dickens—"

"I think you're losing yourself," **Tempest** smiled.

"Bah! Why'd you even ask about it then?" she stuck her tongue out.

"It has to do with you. Of course I'm interested."

"Hehehe….you talk big."

"Fine," he raised a finger. "I assure you. If there's a concert going underway full of people impersonating Skinny Lizard—"

"Lynard Skynard."

"Whatever. I'll be there," **Tempest** winked. "With—as you earth dwellers put it—bells being on portions of my feet."

"Hehehehe…," she got up, scooted around the table, and gave the Atlantean a hug. "You're so sweeeeeet."

Tempest's dark eyes blinked. A shade of skin above his gills turned rosy. He cleared his throat, smiled crookedly, and held her shoulders. "Yes….uhm….I've heard from Black Manta that the flesh of Atlanteans does have a tangy taste to it."

She stepped back, smiling. "I can't wait to tell my friends. They'd be tickled pink to hear that you're coming."

He gestured. "And you?"

"I…uhm…..erm…..," she twiddled her thumbs. She gazed off. Her freckled face blushed. "Why….of course I'd be….g-glad you're coming….."

**Tempest** smirked.

"Ahem….," she coughed, straightened her uniform, and marched towards the entrance to Carman's diner. "I think my break's over."

"Whatever," he shrugged. "I'll catch you tomorrow or something….unless of course there's a bank robbery or falling asteroid."

"Don't you have things to do with your other friends?"

"What other friends? The Titans?" **Tempest** scratched the back of his head. "Eh….they're all doing their own thing."

"You don't say."

"Yup. In fact, Noir, **Beast Boy**, and **Star** are paying someone a special visit…."

T-T-T-T-T-T-

"And pretty much the doctor says that I shouldn't lift anything with it until at least three weeks from now," Daniel said with a crooked smile. He stood in the corner of the pawnshop on the front side of the sales counter. His arm was in a sling and he gestured towards it with his head as he spoke: "So…no more accepting washing machines in until I'm healthy enough to toss an armadillo across the street or something."

I smirked, my arms folded. Leaning against a rack of VCRs and kitchenware. I was dressed in casual denim on denim.

"Which means three weeks of agony for me," Renee groaned from behind the counter.

"Oh come on….it ain't _that_ bad!" Daniel smirked at her, then looked at me. "It's gonna be like Adam and Eve. The wife—pregnant with Abel—will be doing as much grunt work as the husband until his arm recovers."

"Of all the times to be courageous and fearless and downright stupid!"

He leaned towards me and whispered: "She means she loves me…."

I winked under my shades.

"Ohhh…," Renee shuffled out from around the corner. Over six months pregnant and acting as if she as just then feeling the force of gravity take its evil hold. "Alas, there is a vice, Noir," she smiled at me. "After all these months you've visited us, Danny gets the crazy idea of being a hero. I never nearly died so much in my life!"

Daniel wrapped his good arm around her and smirked at me. "I suppose it's a good thing I never saw that Dagger person up close. It would have been one Hell of a time punching his face in with a dislocated arm."

"Now he's overinflated," Renee rolled her eyes. "But I'll endure. That's what I married him for. To ENDURE him."

"In other words….we're doing fine, Noir," Daniel said. "It was nice of you to visit."

I nodded. I bowed my head slightly.

"We hope that….you know….," Renee added with a touch of solemnity, "…that things are doing well around the Tower."

I took a deep breath. A faint but hopeful smile. I mouthed: _'Peachy keen'._ A thumb's up.

"…..," they blinked. Then helpless chuckles.

I grinned. I turned and headed out the door with a wave.

"Bye, Noir!"

"Good bye, Noir."

_So long……_

The bell rang as I left the shop.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

As I walked out into the street, I dug my flesh and metal hands into my pockets and sighed.

My face was long.

Gazing at the passing sidewalk slabs.

I drifted past construction sites and busy intersections where clusters of volunteers worked anxiously to piece back together building fronts and office structures and street corners. The rubble of a past warzone faded as the City became slowly, slowly cleaner. There was almost even a new shine to it. A synthetic, ghostly shine.

_Robin's contract._

It can't be ignored.

We may all be doing better.

But the Titans……

They are a house divided.

Somebody has to do something.

Somebody has to do something.

About **Terra**……

I took a deep breath. I gazed skyward. Gray light glistened off my shades.

_Ana……should I do it?_

Should I write that letter, Ana?

I gazed ahead.

I saw **Starfire** and **Beast Boy** by the outdoor flower shop. Also dressed casually.

_I know. Now's not the time to dwell on that._

I put on a smile and approached the two.

"Dude….this is hopeless!" **Beast Boy** moaned. "She'll spend all day picking flowers! You've got to help!"

"Every piece of flora here is most exquisite," the Tamaranian girl murmured. She looked at every bud and bloom with point blanc scrutiny crossing her emerald eyes. "It takes a studious eye to find the most cherished of the heavenly group."

"What about a black eye?" **Beast Boy** pointed. "Two of them? Noir here has good tastes in flowers. Isn't that right, Mr. Casanova?"

I glared at him.

_Don't tempt me._

"Heh heh heh…"

"Noir, please do assist if you can…,"**Starfire** held up two heterogeneous bundles of color. "Which would be the logical choice in this manner?"

_Logical?_

I scratched my neck, shrugged, and gazed at the flowers.

And it did not take me long to point at the ones in her right hand. The darker blooms.

"Truly?" **Starfire** leaned her head to the side. "I was under the impression that they seemed rather—"

"Gothic?" **Beast Boy** folded his arms and smirked. "Hey…**Robin** came from the place where the night's sky was practically blood red. I bet he'd feel like he was…home."

"……," **Starfire** took a deep breath and nodded. A thin, honest smile. "Truly. Thank you, friends. Your advice is as glorious as always."

I pointed at the vendor with a smirk.

"Eep! Indeed! Give me but sixty milliseconds!" she floated over towards the flower seller.

**Beast Boy** walked over to my side, folded his arms, and looked towards the gray sky. "We'd better get moving. Ya know…before it rains."

"…..," I nodded.

He sighed and glanced across the street. "It's so depressing when it rains at a cemetery…."

The changeling walked down the sidewalk.

I took a breath and joined him—accidentally bumping elbows with a random pedestrian.

_Whump!_

I jolted.

The other fellow did too. He was a tall man in country boots and with a cowboy hat. He looked at me with a raise of his gray eyebrows, smiled, and said: "Reckon your pardon."

"…….," I nodded.

He walked off.

A beat.

I groaned, turned, and followed after my green friend.

Shaking my head.

_Pffft._

Cowboys……

"Hark! Wait the up!" **Starfire** floated after us with a bundle of flowers.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Under the shadow of a slowly reconstructed police department…

Lieutenant Smith leaned on a crutch while shuffling through recent reports and schematics. He hobbled across the shadowed 'enclosure' and stood awkwardly before **Raven** and **Cyborg**.

"But…are you sure that now is a good time for this?" **Cyborg** asked. "The City still hasn't….erm….'recovered'. Just take a look outside the tent flap! The Police Department hardly has a foundation to stand on!"

"Which is why once Booker gets here in the caravan from Charlotte we'll be taking him immediately to the City Prison to conduct our interrogation," the Lieutenant said. He looked up from his papers at the two Titans. "Ever since you Titans caught the former FBI rogue in Asheville, we've suspected Booker of many criminal ties. Ranging from Rupert Thorne from Gotham City to the late Bruno Mannheim of Intergang."

"Let us guess…," **Raven** droned. "You suspected that he had a connection to Dagger as well."

The Lieutenant nodded. "More or less. Commissioner Decker supported the plan of interrogating Booker ever since he heard about what torturous things that freak loved to do to metaphysical living people. It's very possible that the creep may have had ties with a crimelord as big as Dagger."

"And perhaps Triangular…," **Raven** said.

**Cyborg** sweated, his human eye trailing to glance at her.

"…..," Smith took a deep breath. "Triangular….the theory that the…'Messenger' proposed while he was still here?" A beat. "While Decker was still alive."

**Raven** nodded.

"Ahem….," **Cyborg** walked forward. "All of which remains to be concluded."

**Raven** glared at him.

He simpered, facing the Lieutenant squarely. "But, I don't see why we Titans should object to this interrogation. Both allies and enemies in the world of crime are rapidly falling thin. That's a sure as sign as any that some wicked purging is going on. It'd probably be best to question any punk we can get a hand on."

"In other words," **Raven** folded her graceful arms. "It's a good move, Lieutenant. We'll back you up in any way necessary."

"…..," Smith smiled. "So this is how it is. Now that Robin has passed away, it's the two of you in charge of your team?"

The two Titans blinked.

"Heh….how fitting."

**Cyborg** and **Raven** lifted a finger at the same time.

"No, we're not—" "No, we're not—"

A beat.

They looked at each other.

They faced the Lieutenant again.

"Noir is actually second-in-" "Noir is actually second-in-"

They glanced at each other again.

Back to Smith.

"We're—"

"—not the 'leaders'," **Raven** exhaled.

"Then what are you two then?"

**Raven** glared. "Does this have a point?"

Smith chuckled and shook his head. "I guess not."

The Titans sweatdropped as the man hobbled across the tent and placed his papers down onto the top of a folding table. He paused, his backs to them.

A beat.

"I just want to say….," uttered he, "….that in spite of all the mayhem that has ensued. We all owe it to your Titans for stability. We wouldn't be getting anywhere if it weren't for you."

**Cyborg** took a deep breath. Smiling gently, he said: "You served Commissioner Decker faithfully for nearly half a decade, Smith. Let us now serve you…and the City…the way we do best."

"Heheheh…but Titans…," Smith turned around. "You already are."

They were silent.

He was silent.

A cold November wind rustled in and was silent.

**Raven** finally spoke up: "When is it expected to get here?"

"Hmmm?"

"Booker's caravan?"

"Oh….," Smith scratched his head. "Sundown tonight." A beat. "Barring any delays, of course."

**Cyborg** smiled. "Of course."

"……."

…….

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Booker's caravan hummed along the hallway.

Under a dull gray sky.

Two squad cars and a black prison van.

Booker sat inside the rear cabin of the vehicle. Clad in orange. His hands, knees, and calves shackled with chains.

"……," the man glared at the floor.

Booker was an old thing. An old, ugly, burnt thing. Instead of the usual stone-gray of age, he bore a charred, mucousy mosaic complexion of brown and peach and green and rope-burn-red. Veiny skin hung off his chin and forearms and cheeks in flabby monstrosities. He could barely see out from his eyesockets from the clefts of flesh squeezing off of his skull.

Booker didn't always look so hideous. At one time, he seemed deceptively young. Like an anchorperson or a dashing diamond store salesman. He had dark hair, smooth-as-pearl skin, and a smile that could make many a woman swoon.

The one problem was that such youth was merely a façade afforded him by high-tech cosmetic wizardry which he had learned throughout his life from working with the FBI and CIA. He so obsessed over the ability to synthetically extend his life and handsomeness that he went over the edge and turned his back to the government completely, while at the same time stealing from their very own resources to aid him in his selfish means of gaining immortality.

So obsessed was he, that he resorted to doing the fiendish of tasks that could earn him money from the criminal underground to continue with his project. And his latest and greatest project was to hunt down metaphysical alien beings throughout the nation and exploit them for their inhuman powers—that he might somehow find a way to capture such essence and deliver them as sellable product to the highest, dirty bidder.

His final endeavor centered around a lost Tamaranian boy named Nova'm who was living in seclusion under the secret foster care of his human guardians. With as many gadgets and thugs he could acquire, Booker sucked Nova'm of all the angry, Tamaranian energy that the boy could muster. He nearly consumed all that the poor young victim could give him, when quite coincidentally the Titans happened to show up at the villain's door step and ruined his plans.

Booker took a deep, wheezing breath. A frown crawled across his wrinkled face.

In particular…..the redheaded warrior girl from Tamaran had ruined him. Not just his dreams, but Starfire had laid waste to his figure. A violent scuffle and a date with an antique fireplace ruined Booker's façade. The flames ate away at his youthful visage, and all that was left was the scum underneath. Dying, aged, mortal scum.

And Booker did not sleep for one night in nearly three months without wanting to rip her and the rest of the Titans apart for revealing to the world once more who and what he was.

_VRMMMMMM!_

The prison van rolled along.

"……," Booker looked up.

Two guards sat silently by the rear doors. Helmeted. Laser rifles in their grasp.

"…..," Booker looked back down at his chains and sighed.

His weary mind wandered to the City Prison to which he was headed. He imagined all the interrogation techniques that they would use on him. Techniques that he himself had used plenty of times during his career. Many of which he himself perfected.

A smirk came to his lips.

For it was a good thing…

It was a good thing that Commissioner Decker was dead….

_SCREEEEECH!_

Booker gasped as the prison van suddenly lurched.

The two guards gasped and held their places.

"What's going on? Feels like the driver has lost control!"

One guard looked out the rear, grated windows at the blurring road behind them.

"I don't know…..I'm radioing him—"

The road suddenly turned on its side.

CRUNNNNCH!

"AAAH!"

"Dah!"

"Ooof!"

The van rolled to its side as all three occupants fell over hard.

Booker winced, blood trickling out of his nose.

The guards struggled to get up. Groaning.

The van had come to a complete stop on its side.

"Nnngh….what…wh-what the Hell?"

CRACK!

SWOOOOSH!

Suddenly the rear doors ripped open. Bright, gray light poured into the compartment. A thin, petite silhouette stood firmly in the blinding aura.

"Who are you!" one guard stammered.

"No way….," the second raised his laser rifle. "It's-"

The dark figure jerked into a pose with two wrists aimed out.

_ZAAAP!_

ZAP!

Two stinging bolts of electricity slammed the rifle out of the man's hand before shocking him through his suit. "AAARGH!" He fell down smoking.

The second guard ran at the figure. He shouted and raised the butt of his rifle to strike—

WHAP! The figure kicked him hard in the gut before grabbing his shoulders and tossing him out the van hard and cold. "YAAAAAH!" SPLAT!

Booker blinked. Panting.

The figure….hovered towards him. Coming into focus. Glaring and holding two stinger-guns.

"Booker?" Bumblebee sneered.

The man's lips stuttered. "Y-You…..but I thought H.I.V.E.—"

"You're coming with me," she gripped him by the collar and effortlessly hoisted the man up into the air. "Somebody has a job for you."

Booker hissed: "Yeah? Wh-Who…..your Headmistress is dead!"

"…..," Bumblebee smirked. "Yup."

SWOOOOSH!

She hovered out the van and carried the helpless prisoner off towards the gray oblivion.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

THWUMP!

Booker was tossed onto rocky floor of a dark cave somewhere.

"Ooof!" the wrinkly, burnt man winced.

_ZAAP!_

ZAAAAP!

Z-ZAP!

Bumblebee's gun shocked his chains off.

He rubbed his limbs, frowning. "What happens next? We blind Polyphemus?"

"Shut up and pay respect," Bumblebee grunted and stood at attention.

"To who?"

"To me….," uttered a young voice from the shadows.

Booker blinked. He looked up.

A short, thin figure walked out of the shadows. A dark-haired, smiling young man. Someone with an eternal grin and an even more immortal face.

Booker's lips parted. He stood up on wobbly legs. "You?"

"Why do you look so surprised, old fart?" Damien Darhk smiled. "You know very well that H.I.V.E. lives on no matter how soon our pathetic, individual legacies die!"

"B-B-But H.I.V.E. went down the toilet!" Booker pointed a shaky finger. "The Headmistress died and—"

"H.I.V.E. didn't die, you sniveling twit," Darhk barked. "It merely had a change in its starting lineup."

"………," Booker blinked.

Darhk grinned and pointed at himself like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He resembled the 'Fonze' for at least half a second.

"_You?" _Booker stammered.

"Stop repeating yourself…especially when it's with my name," Darhk pointed and paced around the aged fellow. "I don't wear out very easily. You, on the other hand…." He looked up close at Booker's burned and wrinkly condition. "…and here I thought that zombies were a thing of urban myth!"

Booker frowned. "So that's what it was. All this time, you've not been working for the Headmistress. She entrusted you with all of her faculties…but you were just in it for yourself, Darhk!"

"Oh…I'm 'in it' for a lot of things," Darhk gestured. "A lot more things than you could comprehend, I bet. There are big things happening in this schizophrenic day and age of ours, Booker. Things bigger than Triangular. Things bigger than Dagger." He shuffled to a stop. Eyes thin. "Things bigger than Red Aviary…."

"…….," Booker took a deep breath. "I'm listening…."

Darhk chuckled breathily. After a slight shudder, he adjusted a jacket around his figure. "You must forgive me…," he paced again. His breath visible. "I've been in Arizona over the past few weeks. Coming back here is most…..freezing. But then again, I'm here for only a short time. For the dirty work is finally out of my hands. And into your lap."

"Why mine?"

"Horses for courses, Booker," Darhk pointed. "You owed H.I.V.E. a lot for your tech of old. Now that I'm H.I.V.E., you owe that respect to me. We stand on the brink of a huge Rift. Each and everyone of us. We can feel it in our arteries and in our brains. There's something very, very—heheheh—screwed up about to happen. God's domain is about to be tampered with. And I….I want to be there when the rift breaks open." His eyes grew firm. "I've made some friends lately, Booker. And they would be most happy to receive any vessel of power and destruction that I can give them. And right now—in the Titan's City—one such vessel is about to break the surface. I wouldn't even be here rambling to you if that wasn't the case."

"So you want me to get something for you?" Booker asked.

"Not just _anything_," Darhk spoke. "Something so cataclysmically dangerous and potentially devastating that—if I put it in the hands with someone capable of performing brain functions initially—I knew that he would merely run off with the prize by himself. So, I settled for the dumb ox of this region to make the first waves of the initial tsunami. I had Bumblebee here break Johnny Rancid out of the Omega Wing of the City Prison. Then I sent him on his merry way to get a…..gift from Phaser Labs. Forcibly." He shrugged. "I expect that the moron will last another-I dunno-twelve hours before things explode in his face. And once they do, I want you to pry the gift from his smoldering carcass and bring it to me."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Booker growled. "Do you think I'm in any condition to start running the gauntlet in the Titan's very own City!"

"Not you," Damien Darhk said. "But rather…your handiwork."

"?" Booker looked at him strange.

Damien Darhk smiled. He looked to the side. "Bumblebee?"

The girl emotionlessly flicked a wrist, produced a remote, and clicked it.

_CHTUNG!_

_HISSSSSSSSSsssssss….._

A cold, blue light emanated from a crevice in the side of the shadowed cave.

Booker blocked the brightness from his wincing eyes.

An ice-cold tube of translucent blue appeared across from him. Inside the tube was a silent figure.

Damien Darhk motioned towards it: "Behold….our secret weapon. Two of our surviving H.I.V.E. units in Greenland discovered her while out on patrol to rearm the Arctic mines."

"Her?" Booker murmured.

"Take a look for yourself, stupid."

"…..," the man shuffled forward. He stood nose-to-glass.

A tall, thin girl rested in the glass. Sapphire eyes closed. Short, short blonde hair frozen. Blue liquid bubbled slowly around her and flakes of ice and snow hung off her pale skin.

Booker blinked. He gazed down.

There was a plaque on the glass of the tube. It read 'Fraust.'

"Everybody knows you've got a magic hand for brainwashing little freaks like these….," Damien Darhk hissed. "…I think it's about time you brushed up on your talents again. Program her, Booker. Program her to take the prize…and freeze everyone—superhero or not—in her way."

The old man took a deep breath. "And what's possibly in it for me?"

Damien Darhk whistled.

Bumblebee pressed the remote again.

A light glared onto a suddenly-present table full of chemicals and cosmetic gadgetry.

Booker looked over. His eyes widened.

Damien Darhk smiled: "Somebody may just as well be in store for….'strike two' of the Enoch Project."

"……..," Booker smiled.

"Now…..are you hired or what?"

A beat.

Bumblebee looked at the men. She folded her arms….and grinned wickedly.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Despite our superpowers, the three of us walked to the cemetery. It was a large one, housing many of the bodies of those who had lived and died in this City alone. Riverwater trickled beneath green hills speckled with white, ivory-glowing tombstones. At the far end—practically overlooking the gentle waters—was the fifteen foot statue of the Boy Wonder. **Robin's** monument. The memorial of a fallen hero.

**Beast Boy**, **Starfire**, and I stood before the gray feet. Staring up. Impervious to the wind.

The Tamaranian girl took a deep breath, knelt down, and placed the bundle of flowers at the ivory **Robin**'s feet. She stayed kneeling there for a while, her hands rested on her knee. A beat. She swallowed and spoke:

"I have often wondered about there being a significance to the total evaporation of his physical being when he perished in that carbonite explosion," the girl murmured. "I have come to realize that it would only be more sorrowful to grace Robin's body in a coffin. For in such a circumstance, it would be a lot harder to maintain that indeed his spirit has been spread out in the air and inhaled into our ever-warming spirits. He is a part of us all, and we shall live the rest of our lives owing the glorious layers of our mortality to his goodness."

"…..," I smiled.

"Wow, Star….," **Beast Boy** shuddered and managed a smirk as he patted her shoulder. "Forget Superman. It should have been you delivering the eulogy last week."

She stood up, her arms tight by her sides. "No matter. It is not my place to fixate on speeches I did or did not make in the past." She turned towards **Beast Boy** and smiled gently. "My life shall be **Robin's** eulogy. As it has always been lived to exalt the existence of my friends."

"He'd be proud of you, Star…," **Beast Boy** said. "Then again…he always was proud."

**Starfire** giggled.

I looked at **Beast Boy**. I pointed at him.

"Me?" he glanced from me to the statue. "Do _I_ have anything to say?"

"Yes, **Beast Boy**!" Starfire clasped her hands together. "Speak to the ivory façade of **Robin**."

The changeling looked up, scratched his green head, and uttered: "Uh….hope you've got lots of motorcycles and punching bags in heaven. And…..uhm…….while you're up there, say 'hi' to **Terra** for me, will you?"

**Starfire** and I couldn't help but wince.

"Th-Thank you….," Beast Boy murmured to the wind. His eyes were lost.

"**Garfield**….," Starfire gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do not despair. **Terra** may yet be—"

"I said what I wanted to say to **Robin**, didn't I?" he snapped. "You got your chance!"

**Starfire** was silent.

I cleared my throat.

**Beast Boy** bit his lip. "Ah jeez…I'm sorry."

"It is okay, **Beast Boy**—"

"No, **Star**….I….I just-"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

All of our Titan communicator sounded off at once.

We glanced down at them, pulling the devices out of various pockets of our casual clothes.

Coordinates on a small, digital map showed the site of Phaser Labs blinking red.

"Trouble!" **Starfire** murmured. "At the new facility by Phaser Labs!"

"Oye…," **Beast Boy** gulped. He glanced at the statue once and smiled awkwardly at **Starfire**. "You know what he would say, right?"

"Hehehehe. Yes! Titans, to the going!"

The two flew off in green streaks.

I stepped after them, paused, and looked at the statue.

"……"

_Look after us too……_

I turned, summoned murk, and blurred over the headstones of the cemetery.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

Phaser Labs had been leveled to the ground following November Fourth.

In its place—actually a block and a half away—a new facility was in the process of being built. Phaser Labs was already attempting to expand, so there was a basement laboratory already made for the rest of the structure to be built on top of it.

But that afternoon, a ring of squad cars were surrounding the place. An alarm of dread was in the air. Something this City had felt much too often as of late.

I blurred to a stop atop a building ledge opposite the site. Panting. Gripping Myrkblade and dressed in my usual black undershirt, camouflaged jacket, and tan fatigues. My black bangs were held in place by a red bandanna while the rest fanned out behind my head.

I stared at the scene through my black shades, took a deep breath, and blurred down just as a uniformed **Starfire** flew, followed by a green falcon that dropped down and morphed back into elf form at the gates to the building.

The three of us descended rapidly past cops, investigators, and shaken scientists giving testimonies.

We followed a path of shattered walls, broken steps, and scarred ceiling tile. Imprints of a chain whip appeared left and right. Finally…a door that had been kicked off its hinges into a basement laboratory.

The chamber was open, spacious, and lit with eerie floodlights set about the interior. Burn marks spread from a computer station against the wall. A space of sorts set within a wall besides the console was missing something. Something cylindrical in shape.

A huddle of three or four paramedics hustled around the body of a bleeding woman. The blonde victim lie in her lac uniform, spread open slightly so that the experts could swiftly tend to her wounds. They had an oxygen mask over her face, and seemed to be fighting on the brink of losing her.

**Starfire** and **Beast Boy** stared horrifically at the woman. In the meantime, I gazed over and saw **Cyborg**, **Raven**, and **Tempest** talking to a chief Phaser Labs technician.

"Lisa is her name…," he muttered. Looking at the paramedics anxiously. Running a hand over his shuddering head of gray hair. "Dr. Ryan's assistant. She was down here with him just hours ago while he was in the middle of an experiment. Some secret project of his. There was no warning when the intruder came. Suddenly—under my very nose—three of my workers were knocked unconscious, Ryan vanished, his energy core was stolen, and now-this." A deep breath. "Is there no rest for this ghostly City?"

**Cyborg** placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll pull through. I know what the paramedics are doing ain't pretty. And usually—like bad tasting medicine—that means it's working," he winked optimistically.

The man swallowed. "I sure hope so…"

**Raven** drifted over towards the burnt computer console and empty alcove in the wall. "Do you know exactly _what_ it was that Ryan was working on in here?"

"He had a grant from out of Town…," the man uttered. "Metropolis was backing him up. It was classified information. That's why he had things built in this facility and not the main Labs that Slug and Reload took out…"

**Cyborg** popped open a console in his arm and performed a reading of the room. "I'm detecting….chronoton distortions."

**Beast Boy** blinked at **Cyborg**. "Um….dude? Why does that sound bad to me?"

"Because it should," the android Titan grumbled. He looked at the rest of us. The lead scientist included. "It means that whatever was going on in here with Ryan's experiment, it was affecting the time-space continuum."

**Starfire** gasped. "A time machine?"

"We wouldn't know that for sure," **Cyborg** said. "Just because the time-space continuum has been shifted doesn't necessarily mean _time travel_. Hell, a whole plate is open for debate there."

"Like a dimensional portal?" **Raven** droned.

"Or a pocket continuum being experimented on," **Cyborg** shrugged. "Maybe even an attempt to screw with Newton's laws some."

"Dude…," **Beast Boy** shook his head. "Nobody screws with Newton!" A beat. He looked at me. "Right?"

I shrugged.

"Well, someone's been robbed," **Tempest** grunted.

We all looked at him.

He shrugged like we were all idiots. "Well, that's the deal, right? Just look around you! Classic robbery, if ever I've seen one!"

"Someone came here to get something…," **Starfire** nodded. She looked at **Cyborg**. "And away with it, the miscreant went."

"Probably the energy core," the scientist said. "It's the most expensive thing Ryan ever had in here."

"But who could have done it?" **Raven** asked.

Suddenly, the rustling of paramedics.

A coughing, sputtering voice.

The scientist craned his neck, gasped, and ran over: "Lisa!"

The Titans turned.

The scientist leaned over the paramedics as they revived the wounded blonde. "Lisa…..what happened here? Please….speak to me…."

Her eyes were thin. Her lips dry. She jolted and winced from the bandaging of those treating her. She managed through the breathing mask: "A…b-biker…."

**Cyborg** crept up. "Biker?"

She wearily nodded. A cough. She hissed: "Chains….and…..d-dark eye sockets….."

"……," I looked over at **Cyborg**. I hand-signed: _'I smell something rancid.'_

The android Titan nodded. "Boo-yah." He spun about and motioned towards the other teammates. "Titans! Move out!"

T-T-T-T-T-T-

_VRMMMMMM!_

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Johnny Rancid gripped the wheels to his undead bike as he rocketed towards the Suspension Bridge that would take him out of the City And with his pirze….a glittering why cylinder that hung off of him by a leather loop across his shoulders. "I'm a cowwwwwwwwwwboyyyyyy!" he sing-songed. "On a steel horse I kick assssssssss. I'm wanted. Dead or….kicking asSsSsSsSsSs! Ha ha ha! WOO! Who needs a god damn radio!"

_Zzztt!_ The cylinder sparked suspiciously.

"Rrrrrgh…," he elbowed it. Clank! "Stop sparking already, you oversized tampon!" He smirked and gunned down the road, nearly squashing pedestrians and ramming aside cars in a mad dash for the City 'exit'. "Once this delivery is made, I'll be scott free from here to Zanzib—"

SWOOOOOSH! A Tamaranian warrior flew over head with a green elf in her hands. She dropped the changeling, which swiftly turned into a huge triceratops that landed with rearing horns and crest in front of the mad biker.

_**SLAM!**_

Johnny Rancid's dark eyes bulged. "Holy Quizno's!" He jerked hard on the bike handles.

_SCREEEEEEEEECH!_

He swerved the bike to a stop in front of the emerald dinosaur.

**Starfire** floated down with fists charged with glowing starbolts. Together, she and **Beast Boy** viciously blocked the way to the suspension bridge.

Rancid took a deep breath, hugged the cylinder tighter to himself, and smiled: "Well look who it is! The Pansies Anonymous Club! Say…where's your stinkin' bird-brain of a leader! Bet his beak finally bit the bullet, huh? HAH!"

**Starfire**'s teeth grit angrily. Her eyes glowed a hot emerald. Regardless, she held her place.

"**Robin** might be dead….," said a voice from behind.

CLAMP!

SWOOSH!

FLASH!

SPLOOSH!

"!" Johnny Rancid turned around to see me perched on a lamppost, **Raven** teleporting out from the street, **Tempest** floating on a fire hydrant's tentacle of water, and **Cyborg** standing on a street corner.

The android Titan was pointing a titanium finger and frowning: "…but you're screwed."

"That the best you can come up with?" Rancid cackled. "Robin may have been a sniveling little pipsqueak, but at least his worthless ramblings were somewhat catchy!"

"You want catchy?" **Cyborg** growled. He reached upper, grabbed a van, and lifted it up high over his head. "Rrrrghhh! How about you catch _this! YAUGH!"_

SWOOOOSH! The hulking metal vehicle flew at Rancid.

The biker grinned, whipped out a heavy set of chains, spun it, and slashed it straight towards the aluminum missile.

SLAAAAASH!

CRACK!

The van split in two halves and landed on either side of him.

"Screw off, kiddies!" Rancid sneered. He held the coil of now-smoking chains by his side as he remained perched on the humming bike. "I've got a special delivery to make!" He patted the cylinder hanging onto his waist. "Neither rain, sleet, hail, or punk-ass Titans are gonna delay the mail when Johnny Rancid's on the job!"

"The energy core…," **Raven** murmured sideways to **Cyborg**. "That must be what the people at Phaser Labs were talking about. We must be careful."

"Right…," **Cyborg** nodded. "Let's all proceed with caution."

"Thanks for telling me…," **Tempest** grinned from where he floated on the water-tentacle. His eyes glowed purple. "I'll just concentrate now on crushing only his skull."

I smirked.

"Surely you know that your fiendish prowess is not enough to ward off the entirety of us!" **Starfire** called out to the man. "Peacefully give us back the important object which you have pilfered and we will see to your tranquil relocation to jail!"

"Girl, you speak too much to be exciting," Rancid smirked up at her. "No wonder the only boyfriend you ever had is dead."

**Starfire** blinked.

"Bah…romance is for saps!" Rancid suddenly whipped out a remote control. "I, on the other hand, can do just fine with _pets_!"

-Click.-

_RUMMMMMMBLE!_

"?" I craned my neck.

**Cyborg** and the green triceratops wobbled as the ground beneath them shook.

I fought to keep myself perched on the lamppost.

"What in Hades' name?" **Tempest** blinked. He glanced down at the asphalt cracking up. "Ah….how cute."

SMASH!

**"RUFF! RUFF!"**

A gigantic, titanium dog burst up from the urban earth. Its gaping jaws and snout looked like the back end of a refitted dumptruck…and was about the same size as one too. Missiles, grenade launchers, and other assorted features lined its industrial metal exoskeleton.

**Cyborg, Tempest, **and **Beast Boy** all collapsed from the crater.

**Starfire** and **Raven** floated around, gasping from above.

I had managed to leap and perch onto a building face across from the emerging, metal pup.

"Hah hah hah! Say hello to FIDO! Fido liiiiiikes to make friends!" Rancid throttled over on his bike and 'petted' the panting, robot dog. "Especially when those friends are marinating in his belly of battery acid!" He pointed with a whip of his chains. "FIDO! ATTACK!"

**"RUFF! RUFF!"**

The huge robo-canine charged the Titans.

It met **Cyborg** first. The android leader grounded his feet into the asphalt and shoved against the huge dog, struggling.

**Tempest** got up, summoned a funnel of water, and began pummeling the metal monstrosity from out of bounds.

**Beast Boy** joined Cyborg's wrestling match in the form of a bear while **Raven** and **Starfire** provided aerial support with starbolts and black talons of energy.

It soon became apparent that this was an automaton far deserving of our mutual 'attention'.

In the meantime, I sat helpless on the buildingside. I gasped and looked to side as-

_VRMMMMMM!_

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Johnny Rancid gunned his bike back towards the center of the City, opposite of the Bridge. "DETOUR! HA HA HA HA!"

"Nnnghhh!" **Cyborg** struggled, sweated, and looked up with a desperate, human eye. "Noir! Murk time!"

I nodded.

"Catch up with that creep! Get the cylinder at all costs!"

"Yeah! We've got Lassie here!" **Beast Boy** grunted.

**"GRRRRRR!"**

"…..sorta…," the changeling sweatdropped.

I took a deep breath.

SWOOOOOSH!

I blurred down the street and onto a straightaway where the smoke from Rancid's bike was still settling.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" he became a speck in the distant line of asphalt.

I panted, clutching Myrkblade.

"….."

I glanced to my left.

A ninja bike rested. Unmanned. Begging for me to mount it and give chase.

"…."

I groaned and looked ahead.

_God, I hate motorbikes._

SWOOOOOOSH!

I ignored the bike and blurred after Rancid at over one-hundred-miles an hour on the rushing smoke of my feet.

T-T-T-T-T-T-

_VRMMMMMMMM!_

People, reconstruction workers, and volunteers dashed out of the way as Rancid barreled down the street as fast as his fuel and exhaust could take him.

"Hehehehehehehe," he chuckled—shaking—to himself. He tightened his hold on the cylinder and grinned at the sides of the road blurring past him. "Can't be a minute late! Or else I'm gonna have to deliver a free-of-charge glowing cylinder in the future!"

He became only remotely aware of a dark shadow inking into his peripheral.

He glanced right. "Huh?"

SWOOOOOSH! I bounced off a blurred buildingside and pounced on him.

"SON OF A MUFFLER!" he swerved his screeching bike to the left in vain.

CLAMP! I perched on the front end of his cycle. Snarling, I raised Myrkblade and slashed down. SWIIISH!

He jerked his head back.

Myrkblade got nothing but air and—CLANK!—struck the center of the handle bars with a shower of sparks.

"Idiot! Roadkill sticks to the **road**!" Rancid's leather-booted foot came up and kicked me in the chest. WHUMP!

I gasped from the impact and held on with one arm. My lower body flailed off the front end of the motorcycle. Myrkblade dipped down. Its tip grinded against the rushing asphalt. Sparks and pebbles showered upwards from the Earth.

"Ynnnghhh!" Rancid spun his chain whip over his head with a free hand and flung it at my lower body. _THWPPP!_ CLANK!

The chains wrapped around my ankle.

"!" my lips parted.

_YANK!_

He pulled back.

"HA HA HA HA!"

I flew over his head, flailed, reached the end of the metal chain's length, and plummeted towards the road below.

I twirled my body with a pulse of murk at the last second, and then summoned a shield of murk across my back as I landed purposefully face-up.

_FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!_

I slid bumpily on a thin shield of murk protecting my body from the chaos of the blurring asphalt beneath me. My teeth rattled and my shades nearly shook off. All the while, Johnny Rancid dragged me by the taut chain around the ankle on one end and in his grasp on the other. He laughed and veered left and right, swinging me dangerously towards parked vehicles and lampposts as he burned a path through downtown.

"Wait till I find a badass enough tree to string you up! Ladies and gentlemen……blind piñata time! Ah ha ha ha!"

I gritted my teeth.

_Get……a……GIRLFRIEND!_

I pulsed murk.

I 'slid' to the right.

Bumped up onto the sidewalk.

Was dragged towards a stop sign.

Slashed Myrkblade down past my feet.

_CH-CHIING!_

CRACK!

The stop sign snapped in two.

CLAMP!

I grabbed the red octagon, kicked with my feet, 'leapt' up at the end of the chain, and tossed the stop sign into the spokes of Rancid's rear wheels.

SW-SW-SW-SWISH-**CLANK**!

"Frag it!"

_SCREEEECH!_

The gears shattered and the bike dragged into fifty-miles-per-hour.

I landed from my leap, grinded my feet into the ground, anchored myself, and pulled back at the same chain once there was some slack. "!" I mutely snarled through clenched teeth.

_YANK!_

SWOOOOSH! Rancid was pulled of his bike as I yanked him over my head, past me, and into the rear window of a minivan. CRACK!

"OOF!" THWUMP! He collapsed on the ground.

I twirled Myrkblade. I severed the chain around my leg. SNKK! I took a breath and blurred at him.

He stood up, grabbed the slack of what was left of the chain, and hoisted up.

_WHPPP!_

A few links jerked up from under my smoking feet.

"!" I was tossed up into the air.

"HA!" a bruised Rancid whipped out his luger and aimed at me. **BANG!**

I uprighted myself in mid-air with a swing of Myrkblade. CLANG!

The bullet deflected off my sword and knocked the gun out of his grasp.

"Yeowch!"

"!" I landed in a nimble crouch, my weapon raised.

"Nnnnghh!" Rancid twirled the shattered chains above his head, grunted, and tossed them at me.

_WHPPP!_

I ducked my head.

SWOOOSH-CRACK!

A storefront's window behind me shattered.

Rancid took a breath and swung again.

I side-jumped left.

_WHPPP!_

THWACK!

A crater formed in the asphalt where I previously stood.

"Mush! Mush! Heheheh!" Rancid twirled the chain and flung it again.

_WHPPPP!_

CRUNCH! The chains embedded into a Volkswagen Bug behind me.

I took a deep breath and stabbed the chain into the aluminum body of the car with Myrkblade. Sticking it tight.

"Nnngh….Nnnnghhh!" Rancid tugged in vain to yank the chain free.

I took a breath. Summoned murk. Jumped. Landed weightlessly on the taut chain. And blurred down the metal links and leapt off with a jump-kick across Rancid's cheek.

THWACK!

"AAAUGH!" he flew back and landed across the sidewalk.

I landed behind him, twirled Myrkblade, and stabbed down.

He rolled to the side-

CLANK!

My sword struck something. Something bright and cylindrical. Something that hissed and glowed brightly from my cracking impact.

_SHHHHHHHH!_

I sweatdropped.

"Wuh oh….okay, shinobi. What the fudge did you do!" Rancid growled.

I tried to wrench Myrkblade out from the cylinder.

The energy core started to glow brighter and brighter.

The air grew cold and the surrounding concrete vibrated.

_**SHHHHHHHHHHH!**_

_Oh damn……_

My black eyes instinctively flinched and curved in pain from the intensity of light.

Brighter and brighter.

Louder and louder.

Colder and colder.

Like I was being sucked into some infinitesimal nub that made my bones bend into my soul…

"Get away from my BOUNTY!" Rancid's foot came at me.

I gasped and ducked away—

_CRACK!_

Myrkblade came free.

A bright energy surged out…and consumed Rancid.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed.

I shaded my eyes against the thunder and lightning.

Somewhere in the stabbing brightness, I could have sworn I saw the faint outlines of what looked like two ectoplasmic beings with trailing wings like labcoats spiraling into the screaming face of Rancid and dissolving into white glass.

And at some point, Rancid fell.

And at some point, I too fell.

But I didn't stop falling.

Not until a good eternity of piercing through the green walls that mirror the edges of our universes.

Something hideously cold and familiar.

Like the taste of amniotic fluid that we all must know as infants but somehow forget about.

It was the all too ironic sensation of obliteration and being born again.

Somewhere beyond the veil.

And I was gone.


	3. Bard: Superheroing

_Look, I know our relationship didn't work out the way you hoped. But why don't you just slash my tires like a normal ex-girlfriend and end all this fighting between us?" - Bard_

_**BARD: ONE**_

I stood on the roof of Titans Tower, a cigarette between my lips, gazing from behind round, darkened lenses toward the south; towards the place I grew up. Towards Amber.

"It used to be peaceful up here." _Raven_ said from behind me. She was floating a few feet above the gravel roof with her legs crossed, meditating. "And the air used to be cleaner." She added.

Exhaling smoke through my grinning teeth and flicking away ashes, I turned to her.

"You know you'd miss me if I wasn't here." I told her, taking another drag from my cigarette. "I'm your brother, after all."

"Half-brother," she muttered.

I frowned. She _always_ made that distinction, for some reason.

"I reckon I'll leave you alone, then." I suggested slyly, heading towards the elevator that would take me back down into the tower. "I'll tell Superboy to come up and keep you company..."

"O-on second thought," my sister stammered cutely, though still as stoic as ever. "I'd rather have you here."

I grinned again, putting my cigarette back between my lips.

"Why thank ya," I told her, mockingly tipping my black cowboy hat in her direction.

"...That wasn't exactly a compliment." She droned.

I frowned...again.

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

The stylized tone of the Teen Titans came through the small speakers on my communicator and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the brooch that held on my sister's hooded purple cloak blinking red. Quickly, barely noticing that _Raven_ had come to stand by my side, I reached into my trench coat, pulled out my communicator and opened it up to see Robin's face.

_"Titans, trouble!"_ He announced over the frequency, and I had deja-vu...for the fifth millionth time.

"What is it?" I asked.

_"It's Killer Moth!"_ The Boy Wonder replied to us. _"He causing a ruckus over in the Tech District. Get down there as soon as possible! Robin out."_

_Raven_ walked briskly over to the ledge of the roof and put one foot on it, ready to take to the air.

"Are you coming?" She asked me.

"You know I don't like heights. I'll take the steel horse instead."

My sister blinked at me.

"You're going to go all the way through the tower just so you can avoid flying?"

"..." I didn't have a good answer for her.

"Whatever," she said emotionlessly. She flew away, leaving me alone on the roof.

Not wasting any time, I ran over to the elevator and pressed the button to open the doors.

And nothing happened.

I tried over and over again, but the stupid elevator wouldn't work.

_Shit!_

The possibility of flying with the aid of my wind song came to me, but I quickly dismissed that idea. Instead, I found the staircase and ran down flight after flight after flight of stairs, taking them two steps at a time as the clanking of my cowboy boots filled my ears, stopping only briefly to go by my room and pick up my guitar. When I got to the very bottom of the tower to the garage, I hunched over with my guitar on my back and entertained myself for a moment by panting heavily, coughing and wheezing.

_God, I've got to quit smoking._

Finally, I stood up straight with some of my stamina replenished and straddled my Harley. I took one last drag from the cigarette I had forgotten was in my hand and threw it away, happy that no one had caught me with it inside the tower; that was a big no-no in Robin's book, and I certainly didn't want to piss off the Boy Wonder. Setting those thoughts aside, I pushed back the bike stand with heel of my boot and kick started the engine.

**VRRRRROOOOOOM!**

_Time to take Killer Moth to the woodshed..._

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

When I arrived on the scene, Killer Moth, a mad scientist dressed in a metal moth suit, was jumping up and down on a red sports car.

I frowned at him as I parked and got off my Harley. This wasn't really his style. Most of the time, he liked to strike from the shadows and let his mutated moths do the dirty work. Or...

"Titans!" Robin rallied us, twirling his staff over his head. "Go!"

Robin tried to strike at Killer Moth first, but Superboy was faster. His black, red and blue form swooped down at the villain. But Killer Moth spun out of the way, pivoted and sent the Boy of Steel head first into a brick building wall. I winced, but at the same time, something didn't feel quite right. I looked around, even as I heard assorted war cries from my friends...and that's when I saw him. I jumped back on my Harley, started it up and zoomed off.

"Dude!" I barely heard _Beast Boy _yell at me from over the roaring engine. "Where are you going?"

But I didn't have time to answer him. Killer Moth was just a ripple in the pond and the big fish that hid in the darkness beyond him...was Fang.

He didn't notice me at first, so I just trailed along behind him as he climbed and jumped from building side to building side. But I knew the loud motor of my bike wasn't going to escape from his attention for long. When the mutated half-spider/half-man finally saw me, he snarled and doubled his speed. Gritting my teeth, I pulled back on the accelerator and zoomed after him all the faster. Keeping one hand firmly on the handle bars to keep the bike steady, I used my other to reach in to my trench coat and pull out the laser pistol that I had 'acquired' from Kitten way back when. I took careful aim at Fang's scampering figure and-

**ZAP!**

The red laser blast barely missed him, blowing a small, concrete chunk out of the building face he had been climbing. Cursing under my breath, I aimed and tried again.

**ZAP!**

I missed low this time.

**ZAP!**

I missed again. I decided to try a different approach. I put away my laser pistol and sang under my breath.

_# And there's nothing cold as ashes, after the fire is gone!#_

A flaming orange fireball appeared in my palm. Wrenching back my arm, I tossed it at the spider.

**PHOOSH!**

The fireball barely grazed one of his spider legs, but it didn't slow him down in the slightest. Though it pissed me off to no end, I knew he was too far away and my aiming foundation was too unsteady to get off a good shot, or fireball, at him. But the question I had to answer now was: How else was I gonna stop him?

But then, up ahead on the sidewalk, I saw a bald man walking out of a tool store holding something under his arm.

_Bingo!_

I aimed my Harley at the curb he was standing on. I reached out my hand and-

**SWOOSH!**

"-Sorry!"

and snatched away what he had been carrying: A coil of rope.

Taking an insane chance, I leaned back and steered my big Harley with my knees. With my hands free, I started tying a lariat loop in the rope. I briefly looked up and saw a stalled car in the middle of the street.

_Shit!_

I fumbled for the handle bars and turned hard to the left. I missed the car, but my knee smashed painfully into the side mirror, ripping it off. After that, I started saying a quick prayer because I was about to pull a Robin; an insane stunt. Finally, I finished the knot and started twirling the hastily made lasso over my head. Humming the wind song and pulling my front wheel up into a wheelie, I hit the boosters, catapulted up off the back of a parked car and went airborne. At the height of my jump, I threw the lasso at Fang. The rope looped over the spider abdomen of Fang and tightened...and I was jerked through the air on off my bike. Just before my Harley hit the ground, blue rocket boosters emerged from it's bottom and safely guided it to the ground.

_Note to Self: Thank Cyborg for customizing my bike again._

I didn't have much time to be thankful, however, since Fang was taking me for one hell of a bronco ride.

_Don't look down, Jonny. Don't look down!_

I looked down.

Gritting my teeth all the harder, I half shut my eyes and gripped the rope as tight as I could. Fang jumped across the street below us time and time again, sending me bouncing into glass and trying to run sideways over concrete and brick as I exerted all my energy into holding on to my end of the rope. Finally, Fang made a mistake. He clamored around the corner of a building onto another street, which sent me arcing out...and then back in.

**WHAM!**

I planted the heels of both of my cowboy boots right between the freak's mandibles. We found ourselves tumbling towards the hard concrete, a mass of boots and arachnid legs and flapping arms. At the last second, I was able to hum the wind song and stop my descent. Fang wasn't so lucky.

**SMASH!**

Fang crashed into the cab of a pickup truck, totally destroying the vehicle and raining glass out on the street. I winced at the thought of some poor guy coming out of a store and finding his truck in this condition.

Amazingly, Fang moved. He shuddered and, ever so slowly, he pushed himself up out of the wreckage with his arachnid legs. He stuttered left, then to the right, and then his eyes locked into mine. He held up his human fists defiantly and-

"Ugggghhh..."

fell forward, unconscious.

I sweat dropped.

After a moment, I thankfully set my boots on the ground again and reached into my trench coat for my communicator.

_"Bard,"_ Robin face said to me. _"Where did you go?"_

"I caught Fang taking a stroll." I replied. "He's down here on Williams Street. Think you can pick him up for me?"

"_Why can't you do it?"_

I swallowed.

"I-I have someone I have to see."

Robin stared piercingly at me from behind his mask, as if he were looking right at my soul. Finally, he nodded.

_"All right, Bard. I'll send Beast Boy down to take him away."_

_"Aw, man!" _I heard _Beast Boy _complain in the background.

_"_Thanks,"

_"Good job, Bard. Robin out."_

Sighing, I closed the communicator and put it back in my coat. Checking Fang one last time, I headed back towards where my Harley was waiting for me. I had someone to see. Today...

Today was the day I had first met Tim.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

I stood before my bike in front of the sanitarium, nervously smoking another cigarette. Three smoldering butts lay on the ground by my Harley's back tire. To tell the God's honest truth...I was scared. Not of the huge, white washed building in front of me, but of what waited within; of _who_ waited within.

What seemed like an eternity ago, Tim had been my best friend. But that had been before Slade got a hold to him. Tim had always been a big man, anyway, but Slade took it to extremes. He injected him with the Bane Serum. The serum doubled, even tripled the size of Tim's muscle's, but there was a deadly side effect: It drastically raised his aggression. Finally, after an extremely high dose, it finally took it's toll on him mind: Tim snapped. He was reduced to a slavering monster whose only thought was blood...usually mine.

I saw the full extent of his madness when Raven and I went into his mind in a vain attempt to cure him. In his insane state, I saw him imagining killing me...bloodily. And the illusion he conjured up with Amber...

Shuddering, I took another long drag from my cigarette, using it as an emotional crutch. I didn't think I could do this. I had tried only once before, and I had wimped out at the last second. I wasn't afraid of him attacking me. What scared me was those green eyes of his that I knew would be filled with rage and insanity. Eyes...eyes that didn't belong to my friend anymore; eyes that only wanted to see me dead and turn red with my blood...

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

Damn near thankful, I reached into my coat and pulled out my communicator. When I opened it, Robin's face was on the small screen.

_"Bard, I need your help."_

I blinked. I was surprised he hadn't said 'Titans, trouble!'

"What do you need?"

_"I need you to go down to Star Labs and investigate a disturbance that happen there not too long ago."_

"Star Labs?" I echoed. "Why don't you send Cyborg down there? I don't really know-"

_"I can't."_ The Boy Wonder cut me off. _"Crimson Wolf is being transferred to a federal prison today and Commissioner Walker wants us to be there. Just find out what you can. Robin out."_

I had objected a bit, to be sure, but in truth, I was glad. Having to go down to Star Labs gave me a valid excuse not to enter the sanitarium...or face the eyes within it.

"Another day, Tim." I whispered under my breath as I threw away my cigarette and climbed back on my Harley. "Another day."

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Robin leaned against the brick wall in the grassless yard of the city's prison. His gloved arms were crossed tightly across his chest, his jaw was clenched and the slits of his eye mask were narrowed. He was the epiphany of tenseness and concentration.

_Starfire_ floated over and peered hesitantly at him, her emerald eyes tinged with concern.

"Friend Robin, do you feel the distress?"

"No," the Boy Wonder answered, rolling his neck to loosen it up. "I'm more worried than anything. Crimson Wolf is dangerous, merciless and, worst of all, extremely smart. I have a dark feeling that he'll try to escape."

_Starfire_ cocked her head to the side.

"But that is why we are present, correct?"

"Right," Robin nodded. "But we have to be ready for anything. We...the city...can't afford for us to make any mistakes."

"Understood!" _Starfire_ floated a bit and raised a hand. "Should the Crimson Wolf attempt to escape, he will be met by my fiery green Tamaranian fury!"

Robin allowed himself a small smile before the intense determination ruled his face once again.

Not far away, Superboy was smirking at them.

"Is it just me?" He asked. "Or are they connected at the hip?"

"You'll get used to it." _Cyborg_ shrugged his titanium shoulders. "One of these days they're actually gonna kiss and hell will freeze over."

"Don't count on it..." _Raven_ droned from behind him.

"What? Robin and Starfire kissing?"

"...No,"

"...Oh," Cyborg paused. "It was a figure of speech!" The robot protested.

"..."

Suddenly, _Beast Boy _grinned mischievously and elbowed Superboy suggestively in the ribs. After rubbing his skinny, bruised elbow, he said:

"Forget about _Starfire_, dude. _Raven's_ still single!" The green changeling waggled his eyebrows.

_Raven's_ eyes flashed.

"...I'd rather die first."

_Cyborg_ winked his human eye at the Boy of Steel.

"Better hope Bard's wrong about the after life and that you're reincarnated, dawg!"

Superboy thought about that.

"Bard kinda weird, isn't he?"

_Beast Boy _looked at him and scratched his dark green hair.

"Um...I think we're all pretty weird, dude..."

"That's not what I meant, man." Superboy shook his head. "I mean, he just doesn't seem like the type to be a bible thumper. You've seen the way he fights! He stomps on toes, pokes people in the eyes, kicks people right in the-" He stopped and glanced nervously over at where Robin was standing. "Right below the belt. He smokes a ton of cigarettes a day and I have never, _ever_ seen him wear a helmet when he rides that Harley of his."

_Cyborg_ blinked.

"That is kinda weird..."

"You don't understand." _Raven_ told them. "The bible's overall message isn't that if you do bad things you'll be punished. All men sin. It is inevitable. The important thing is to accept God into your life and help him lead you...or something along those lines."

All three boys stared at the dark sorceress.

_"You read the bible?"_ They all asked her at the same time.

_Raven_ cleared her throat.

"It's the oldest book ever written." She explained. "I consider it a slightly fictious history book. Nothing more." Suddenly, she winced and turned away.

"What's wrong, babe?" Superboy asked her.

"I-I thought I felt something." The girl took in a deep breath. "But...it was nothing... Come, we have to be ready for Crimson Wolf."

Superboy looked at the sorceress as she walked away. He knew something was wrong with her...or she knew something she didn't want to reveal. How did he know? Simple: She hadn't zapped the crap out of him when he called her 'babe'.

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When I pulled my Harley up to the Jump City Division of Star Labs, an attractive, red haired woman was outside waiting for me. She was dressed conservatively, I saw, and I figured she was a secretary or a lab assistant. I also saw the glassy look in her blue eyes, a look I quickly identified as someone's who had been through some kind of trauma.

"A-are you a Titan?" She asked me when I walked up to her.

"Yes, ma'am." I brought two fingers up to the brim of my cowboy hat in greeting. "I'm Bard, the new one. And you are..."

"Lisa," she answered, and I gently shook her hand.

"Now, do you want to tell me what happened today?"

The woman took in a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.

"A-at first, I thought the computer console was just short circuiting out again. Ray isn't very good at computers, so it happens pretty frequently. Can you believe he actually had trouble getting an accurate reading on an atomic chronometer?"

I stared at her blankly. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. This was one of the main reasons I had suggested to Robin that Cyborg come here instead of me. I had no knowledge whatsoever about technology.

"Anyway," the girl continued. "Just as I was walking by, he starts to shout. Something about neighboring universes or something. Ray might be bad at computers, but he's a genius, and most of what he says goes over my head."

I nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"Well, he's talking to somebody through some kind of radio and they start talking about me! What I look like and all. When I heard that, I snatched the mike from Ray and started berating him and the other person on the line for being, um, perverts." She actually blushed at me.

"But once I started talking," Lisa went on. "I started talking to myself."

I cocked my head to the side. Surely I couldn't have heard that right...

"What?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true! I was talking over the microphone and, at the same time, another me was talking right back at me!"

"You sure it wasn't an echo or something?"

"No," she shook her head emphatically. "We were saying different things at the same time. And she knew something about me that only I would know!"

I looked at her curiously.

"What did she know?"

"Um," she bit her lip. "I-I have a tattoo."

I quickly scanned her exposed skin with my eyes.

"I don't see any-"

"Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there."

"...Oh..." It was my turn to blush.

For the sole purpose of changing the subject, I imagine, she asked:

"Why do you always take your guitar with you?"

Unconsciously, I looked over my shoulder at it's head where the acoustic instrument was draped diagonally down my back.

"It comes in handy sometimes." I shrugged. "Do you mind showing me the machine he was using?"

"O-Of course!" She nodded quickly. "This way."

I took off my hat and followed her inside. The place was mostly deserted. At least, it was in the computer area she lead me into. There were four or five other scientists there, and I reckoned that they were there for the same reason as me.

"This is it." Lisa told me, pointing.

I'd never seen a machine like it. Of course, with my limited perspective into the technology world, it wasn't a surprise. Sure, I had a laser pistol, but all I knew about it was that if you pointed it at someone and pulled the trigger, bad stuff would happen to them.

The monitor was larger than your usual home computer, and the CPU reached up to my chest and was about as wide as my arms would reach. There was a standard keyboard to it, and a radio hanging by a chord that looked suspiciously like a souped up walkie talkie.

"All right," I said then. "What happened?"

"Like I said, Ray was talking to the other Lisa and someone else, babbling on and on about a breakthrough of some kind. Then, all of sudden, there was some kind of disturbance on their side of the line."

"Disturbance?"

"It sounded like...like someone was attacking them. And that's when Ray disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"You sure are good at repeating things."

I blinked.

"But yeah, he disappeared in a flash of light." Lisa explained to me.

The mystic teleporter, Zillah came immediately into my mind, but that didn't fit. She had left the city just a couple of days ago. What would she want with a scientist at Star Labs, anyway? And, if my memory served, things she teleported didn't flash.

"Look," I told her honestly. "I'm out of my depth here. I know nothing about technology and-"

"Hey, what's this?" She bent over and fumbled beneath the desk the machine rested on. Her conservative jacket rose some, and her skirt descended just a bit. I saw the very edge of a picture inked into her skin.

_So **that's** where the tattoo is..._

I blushed and looked away as she stood back up.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," she answered, twirling the metal, cylindrical object in her hands. "It looks like a cannister of some kind."

She handed it to me, but I couldn't discern anything from it.

"I'll take this back to the tower and let Robin and Cyborg look it over." I suggested to her. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Lisa took in a deep, shuddering breath.

"I-I think so." She answered me with a nod. "I just need to go home and get some rest."

"Did you want a ride?"

She looked at me funny.

"I'm not trying to pick you up." I defended myself, raising my hands unconsciously. "Just tryin' to be a gentleman..."

"...Oh,"

She almost sounded...disappointed.

When we were outside, she took one look at my bike and said:

"You're taking me home on a _motorcycle?_"

I blinked.

"What did you think I drove around in? 'The Bardmobile'?"

"Well, what's this?" She pointed at my bike. "'The Bard-Cycle'?"

I sweat dropped.

"I just call it my Harley and leave it at that."

I straddled the motorcycle and turned back to Lisa, offering a hand. She hesitated for a moment, but then she took it and sat down behind me.

"Aren't we supposed to be wearing helmets?" She asked me.

I ignored her...But I did keep an eye open for cops.

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Slade sat on his makeshift throne in the middle of the large, dark room. His masked head was bowed, and his single visible eye was narrowed as if he were deep in thought. At each side of him, Jinx and Kitten kneeled submissively. Suddenly, the room was lit up at the huge monitor opposite them lit up to show Professor Chang's wrinkled, ugly face.

"You are beginning to irritate me, Chang." Slade delivered the only slightly veiled threat coldly. "I have already told you: You'll have no more funding until you provide me with some useful results."

"It's not that." Chang said, but then he paused thoughtfully. "Although I could use more money to work on-"

The insane inventor stopped immeidatly when Slade stood up and slammed his fist down on the arm rest of his chair.

"Enough! Tell me something useful, Chang, before I decided that you are..._expendable_."

Professor Chang gulped audibly.

"I-I just wanted to tell you that my sensors are picking up chronoton distortions here in the city..."

"Is that so?" Slade said, his voice ambitiously interested. "Very good, Chang. Perhaps you're more useful than I had previously thought."

Chang's face brightened noticeably.

"I can send you a program to track down the distortions." He said brightly.

"Do that." Slade ordered him. "Perhaps, if what you say is true, you'll deserve to have all the research money you'll ever need."

Chang revealed his misshapen teeth with a grin and, somehow he knew, that Slade was grinning as well beneath his mask.

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As I walked down the steps out of the old brownstone building from taking Lisa up to her apartment, I stopped. I reckon I could have stopped for all sorts of reasons. Maybe I'd left the cannister Lisa found at Star Labs in her apartment. Maybe I wanted to smoke a cigarette. Or maybe even just because of a sudden, bad itch... But, unfortunately, (except for maybe that last one), none of those reasons were true.

I had stopped because I was looking down the barrel of a really big laser rifle.

Kitten was sitting on my Harley, pointing the huge weapon at me. She wore a red bandanna to hold back her blonde hair and wore the same dark, loose fitting fighting clothes as always. She had come a long way from simply being Killer Moth's annoying daughter.

"Hand it over." She grated at me.

I groaned. But I wasn't sure whether she meant the canister or the laser pistol I had stolen from her so long ago.

"Look, I know our relationship didn't work out the way you hoped." I said. "But why don't you just slash my tires like a normal ex-girlfriend and end all this fighting between us?"

Without saying a word, I saw Kitten tense her finger around the trigger of the rifle and a faint, pink light building up inside the barrel.

_Wrong answer!_

**ZAP!**

I just barely dove out of the way, but that didn't mean I was out of the woods yet.

**ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!**

Though I was nowhere near as acrobatic as Robin, that didn't mean I couldn't dodge. I jumped over one shot, ducked another and dove for the only cover available: The back of a pickup truck. But before I could reach into my coat to grab my laser pistol and return fire, a dozen or so strong hands appeared out of nowhere, grabbed me by my black trench coat and yanked me out. I was being dragged forward towards Kitten by my arms when I finally saw who had me: Six or so of Slade's robots. But that wasn't the first thing I noticed. No, the first thing I noticed that was my cowboy hat had fallen off my head.

_Oh, hell no..._

I jumped and leaned back, letting my two draggers hold me up as I kicked two of the robots in the face with my cowboy boots. When I was back on the ground, I forced my arms together with a strained grunt, making my two draggers klonk heads. There were two more left. I pivoted my acoustic, wooden guitar around to my front and picked a quick melody, causing two blue streaks of electricity to arc at them. They smoked and convulsed and went down for the count.

Suddenly remembering Kitten, I repositioned my guitar, tore my laser pistol from my coat and turned to her...but she was gone. Cursing under my breath, I walked back to the pickup truck, got my hat and put it back on my head. Then, I quickly got on my bike. Though I wasn't sure, I had a feeling Kitten had been after the canister. And if she wanted it, it really meant that _Slade_ wanted it. But even if that wasn't the case, I still needed to figure out what the hell it was.

Lighting a cigarette, I started up my Harley and headed back towards Titans Tower. I'd already had enough 'superheroing' for one day, and it wasn't even noon yet.


	4. Noir: Something's Rancid in Denmark

"……………."

Cold pavement.

"……………"

Pigeon coos.

A flapping of wings.

Cool shadows passing over.

"……………"

A twitch.

A wince.

I stirred.

_Ah jeez……_

I sat up, black eyes shut.

Rubbing my head.

Teeth showing.

_That's the last time I spend the night with a steamroller……_

"……….."

I opened my eyes.

Pigeons flapped and scattered up into a deep blue sky.

A bright….blue sky.

With lots of sunlight.

No clouds.

It stabbed me through my shades.

I squinted.

_Good morning to you too, City._

I stood up.

Wobbly knees.

I flexed my flesh and metal fingers.

I was unarmed.

I looked down at the floor.

_Myrkblade……_

The wooden sword rested a few sidewalk panels away.

I walked over, picked it up, and sheathed it into the scabbard hanging over my back. _CHIIIIING!_

I took a deep breath, straightening some of my long bangs of black.

_Johnny Rancid……_

I turned around.

The City Street was spotless. Immaculate. A few cars were parked innocently in parallel spots. Pedestrians walked down the sidewalk. Some with dogs on leashes. Some families together and chuckling over one thing or another.

But I wasn't quite so concerned with what _was there_, but rather what _wasn't there_.

I blinked.

_Rancid's gone. _

So's his smashed-up bike.

I looked down at the barren, cold sidewalk.

_And that canister core thingy he was carrying……_

My jaw tightened.

_He must have gotten away with it. Damn……_

Suddenly…a shiver.

I felt a chill all over my body.

And then a coldness….like being pulled into a vortex.

I cringed all over, slightly alarmed.

But as soon as the cold sensation started….it ended.

And I felt warm again.

"…….," I blinked.

_Okay……wyrd……_

I took a deep breath. I nonchalantly started pacing down the sidewalk. I whipped out my communicator and flipped it open with a Star Trek sound.

_Better update the Titans. Hopefully they're fairing well enough that robo-dog bucket of bolts to help out……_

I pulled the retractable wire out of the communicator, plugged it into my metal limb, and clicked my forefinger and middle finger. I thus sent a morse code message through the airwaves so that they may pick up my distress.

'_Titans. I lost track of Johnny Rancid. I think he still has the energy core. Can you spare Starfire or Beast Boy to do reconnaissance?'_

As I did so, I gazed around the surroundings once more.

The weather had seemingly changed. It felt warmer, brighter. And—combined with the carefree enthusiasm on the faces of the citizens—a bit happier too. There was a sense of wholesomeness that I hadn't seen or felt since—_I dunno_—the days before Slade died.

I walked past a guy and girl on the sidewalk.

I smiled and nodded politely at them.

They eyed me and my scabbard. They held each other by the arm and distanced themselves from me as we passed by.

I blinked under my shades.

They hurriedly went down the sidewalk.

"……….," I stared at them over my shoulder.

_Okay…… _

I know I'm the 'dark Titan', but that's a little **too** paranoid. Isn't it?

The Titan communicator vibrated.

"?" I looked down at it.

There was a reply being sent back to me. But…also in Morse Code.

It interpreted:

'_Energy core? Johnny Rancid? Who is this? How did you get on this frequency?'_

I blinked wyrdly at that.

A beat.

_Uhm……_

I clicked my fingers.

I sent a message back: _'Cyborg? Raven? Why are you not responding with the audio signal?'_

I waited.

But…..

There was no response.

"…….."

I took a deep breath.

I pocketed the communicator away.

_They must be too busy with Rancid's distraction._

I fidgeted nervously.

_But……what was all that about anyways?_

_Maybe Cyborg has more circuits fried than any of us think—_

I shook out of it.

I had to find Rancid.

Besides, I was more than capable of taking responsible action on my own. I shouldn't have needed backup that desperately. I would just have to…..gain some height.

I looked up a building side.

I followed the floors up with my black eyes.

Eleven stories.

_That should do it._

I summoned murk. I flexed my limbs. As the smoke started to pour…I glanced left. Down the street from which I came. The very same street where I fell unconscious after the climactic scuffle with Johnny Rancid.

And—if but for half a second—I stumbled.

My eyebrow raised.

For I suddenly realized that there was not a single scar on the asphalt of the street. Not a single link of metal chain. No broken glass and no motorcycle bits.

Everything was immaculate.

_Huh…… _

Wyrd.

SWOOOOSH!

I ignored a gasping pedestrian on either side of me as I blurred up the opposite buildingside in a wave of smoke, scaled the height, and ascended to the towering rooftops.

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A half an hour later, I paused in the midst of my frantic roof-hopping and froze on a building's outer ledge.

Breathing hard. Regaining my lungs. Resting against the wind-blown structure.

Black hair drifted in the air currents as I squinted down through my dark shades from the twenty-story position I was at.

The streets seemed busier than I remember. And much more colorful and discernible too. The rapidly available sunlight lit up the curves, contours, and textures of the City that I almost forgot it had. People move, drove, bicycled, and skated like half-a-year of fear was gone from their lives. Everything was so lively and vibrant.

And….

There was not a single reconstruction site to be seen.

Which bothered me.

My lips parted somewhat.

_Surely the volunteers wouldn't have gone home this early. _

The organizations from Metropolis and Star City especially made it clear that cleanup crews and first aid paramedics would remain in the City for a month, at least. Everyone the nation over had pledged from the bottom of their hearts to help all of our citizens recover from the horrors of Dagger's offensive.

But as I looked around, it became awkwardly apparent….

_It's not that the reconstruction workers are missing. The sites themselves are gone. It's almost as if……_

I blinked.

Main Street was in one piece.

A building I could have sworn was at least _half_ decimated a week ago was suddenly and undeniably whole. And as I scanned the cityscape. The Jefferson Building. Maureen Hall. Blue Square. They were all standing. Standing and blinked.

_What in the Hell? I could have sworn at least the HIND blasted **those** things down……_

I looked around. Quite distracted. Quite confused. And—ultimately—feeling quite stupid.

My black eyes noticeably breathed past a huge waste of blue space. I did a double-take and looked once more.

_Blue space?_

There was a huge open spot of visible, blue sky. Enough for a zeppelin to breeze through. It felt like a gargantuan gap in the middle of a row of urban teeth. It took very little time for me to figure out why.

_Where is Kobayashi Tower?_

Indeed. The City's tallest skyscraper. The center for JCN Broadcasting. The worldly renown trademark of our City with its dazzlingly huge, pale, shiny satellite dishes atop a sloping, glass summit…..

It was missing.

My heart skipped a beat.

The chill again.

The feeling of being sucked into an eternally small dot in the unseen void.

I gribbed my shivering limbs and warmed the queer sensation away.

My body shuddered.

I clenched my eyes shut. I shook my head. I gulped, and reopened my optics.

_Get a grip over yourself. _

Your tangle with Johnny Rancid……

It got you confused. Dizzy. Disoriented.

I ran a hand through my long black hair and sighed in the wind.

_God, I need to sleep. _

But……

Once I find Johnny Rancid first.

So I summoned murk, shook off the queer feelings creeping all over me, and blurred down the building side to head northward.

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Another half an hour passed…

My search was a fruitless one.

Gazing down into the yawning streets of the sunlit City, I saw no sign of the notorious biker. His black head of hair and cackling voice was lost to me. I helplessly stumbled from rooftop to rooftop, murking and teleporting and blurring in a hurried attempt to locate the source of the pilfered energy core.

But to no avail.

I groaned mutely and frowned as my pace slowed to a crawl from one laborious skyscraper summit to another.

_Okay, so I tracked him down. _

We fought in the street.

The fisticuffs turned personal.

And……

A bright light.

I exhaled. I stopped and perched besides a t.v. antenna. I gazed down towards a stretch of road besides a playground full of giggling children several stories below.

_That wasn't it. _

There was a reason for a bright light.

I winced.

My head still hurt from the collapse and unconscious spite on the cold, hard sidewalk.

_Myrkblade…… _

It pierced the canister, didn't it?

And……the energy core burst.

A breach.

I shook my head.

_But, that can't be it. _

Rancid took off.

He and his bike were missing.

And the damage our scuffle had caused.

I sighed.

_That_ I couldn't explain…..

"……….?" My neck craned. I saw something on the fence bordering the playground. Something….striking.

"……."

I gripped the ledge of the building, took a breath, and nimbly vaulted over it.

Blurring.

SWOOOOSH!

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

_Plant!_

I landed on the sidewalk.

Two women walking dropped their groceries and gasped at me.

I looked at them. Simpered. And waved.

"!" they swiftly spun around and ran.

"…….," I blinked.

_There it is again. _

What's going on? Has Glover been spreading rumors again?

I shrugged.

I shifted Myrkblade's scabbard on my back, walked across the street when there was no traffic, and approached the fence around the playground.

And I froze.

My lips parting.

A chill ran through my limbs. A very familiar chill.

A layout of identical posters lined the fence. In dramatically-colored illustrations, the posters depicted a villain with a face mask of black and brown industrial metal. Breathing slits. An emblazoned eye. One.

The words of the posters read: _'**WANTED: SLADE. DEAD OR ALIVE.'**_

I shuddered.

_Why……are these posters up here?_

I looked up and down the street.

_This is an old part of Town._

I looked at the fence again.

_Some moron City official must have forgotten to take these down from July Fourth months ago……_

Still, it was a haunting sensation.

I felt a tingling sensation in my metal limb.

I gripped my titanium wrist and shuddered.

_He's dead. _

He's dead………

Stupid posters.

And it only took me half a step to stumble upon another poster and nearly pratfall—

'_**WANTED: BROTHER BLOOD. ALIVE FOR QUESTIONING'**_

"………," I blinked.

_Brother Blood? _

Who in the blue Hell is Brother Blood?

I looked down the street.

Utterly confused.

Utterly tired.

_Dammit……why couldn't the Titans have responded to me?_

I fingered the communicator in my pocket.

I contemplated contacting them again—

I heard a voice.

A distant voice.

"?"

I turned. I looked across the street.

A few blocks down, there resided a strip of low-end buildings. One of them was a grimy thing plastered with the words: "John's Auto Repair'.

My black eyes narrowed under my shades.

I remembered reading bios on the past life of Johnny Rancid.

And a strange thought hit me.

_What are the chances? _

But……

Of all the worst places to hide out……

Nevertheless, I heard a voice. A distinctly _rancid_ voice.

I fingered the hilt of Myrkblade, took a breath, and swiftly treaded my way towards the locale….

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Wow, gee thanks. You put an awful lot of work into the stuff we bring in, don't you, Rancid?"

A slick-black-haired man looked up. He smirked with dark eyes thin. "Please, Mack. It's _Jonathan._ _Jonathan Raithe._" CLUNK! He shut the hood tightly to a white sports car and wiped his greasy hands on a rag as he paced around the middle of the garage. All around him, blue-suited mechanics worked intensely on rows of cars, vans, and trucks on elevated racks. "I'm not 'Johnny Rancid' anymore. Hell, the judge would have my balls if I so much as said that word with even half a chuckle, I swear to God."

"Heheheheh," the customer having his car serviced ran a hand through his hair and admired the handiwork on the vehicle. "I still think it's weird, man."

"Weird? Why's that?" the former Rancid stared. "Think a guy can't turn around and make a difference with his life?"

"You were once the scourge of the Titans. The 'King of the Road'. You couldn't stop riding your motorcycle around wreaking havoc and making huge metal monstrosities to chew the City up where you weren't tearing rubber and—"

"I get the **point**," the dark-haired man snarled. A beat. He cleared his throat, composed himself, and leaned on the vehicle. "The fact is, those crummy days are behind me. In case you've never been there yourself, bub, prison sucks. And for a long while, all of my life was in prison. And—as a result—my life utterly and completely sucked!"

"Wow. You've been studying on Socrates too, huh?"

"Whatever, man," the former Rancid smirked and handed the man the keys. "My life was given back to me. And I gotta respect it. Lookit!" He gestured around the entirety of the noisy, busy garage. "I got my shop back. My co-workers have returned to me. I'm still doing what I've always been good at. I can still be badass…just in another way."

"So…not so much a softy, huh?"

"Heheheh….hell no," the man smirked. "The Titans taught me two things. One….the feel of being slammed into a minivan to the point of my skull cracking. And Two…..that there's no point in me ever…EVER….getting into a fight again."

**CRASH!**

The ceiling caved in with a splash of splinters.

Mechanics shouted in horror and ran every which way.

THWUMP! I landed, crouched on top of a van above.

Rancid turned and looked up at me. He—and everyone else for that matter—blinked numbly. "Uhm…."

I took a breath. Frowning. SWOOOOSH! I dove at him.

His eyes widened-

WHAM!

I plowed into his body. Our bodies rolled on the grease-streaked floor. We ended with me jerking to a stop with my back to the earth, kicking my feet up, and launching him across the garage.

"WAAAAAAAAAAIE!" he twirled through the air and crashed through two tool crates. CRASH!

People gasped.

Mechanics cursed in horror.

I leapt up to my feet.

"Nnngh…," Rancid stood up. He rubbed his head. "What in the blue Jesus!"

I gritted my teeth.

CHIIIIIIING! I had Myrkblade up.

People gasped and cowered all around me.

"……," I glanced at them through the corner of my black eyes.

_God, what's **with** everyone today!_

"The Hell is your problem!" Rancid frowned at me.

SWOOOOOSH! I blurred at him.

He flinched.

THWACK! Myrkblade froze in an upswing, striking him across his torso.

Rancid's body ragdolled through the front windows of the shop—

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

CRASH!

He rolled onto the sidewalk, causing random pedestrians to jump back and gasp.

Mechanics from inside shouted:

"What the heck!"

"It's a frickin' psycho!"

"We've got a swordsman here trying to kill someone!"

I leapt through the window. I held Myrkblade to the side as I marched menacingly towards Rancid's stirring side.

"Nnnngh…look man….," he squirmed away from me on a sea of glass. Wincing and trembling all over. "….whatever I may owe you from all the crap in the past, it's over with. I'm through being a criminal! You got a problem with it, take it up with the judge!"

My eyebrows furrowed.

I frowned even more.

_What trick are you trying to pull?_

He struggled to get up.

I held Myrkblade out.

_You think you can shoot an innocent woman inside a laboratory, steal a priceless energy core, and threaten the very lives of my friend and this City and **get away with it?**_

GRIP!

I hoisted him up to my face level.

"Nnngh!" he winced.

CHIIIIING!

I held the tip of Myrkblade to the small of his throat.

He shivered and sweat, eyeing the blade nervously as I slowly encased it with serrated smoke.

I clenched my teeth and mouthed in the most articulate way that I hoped he could understand: _'Where. Is. The. Capsule?'_

"What do you want! For criminy's sake, I'm just trying to make a living here!"

I practically snarled.

_Stop playing stupid!_

THWACK!

My eyes jolted a split second before I collapsed in sharp, ringing pain from a heavy blow to the back of my neck.

A mechanic stood behind me with a heavy wrench vibrating from the impact. "You leave him alone, you samurai freak!"

"Yeah!" a few burly others behind him nodded and held chains and crowbars at ready.

I rubbed the back of my neck, and glanced up at them.

_Henchmen? Since when did Rancid have-_

"Don't try any more moves, punk!" the foremost man from the garage frowned. "We already called the cops. Walker's men are gonna see you in the slammer sooner than you can—"

I stood up.

"I said…don't move!" he raised his wrench again.

"……," my face twisted.

SLASH!

With an effortless swing of Myrkblade, I sliced the wrench in his hand in two.

"!" he eyed the severed tool and stepped back. "Wowsers!" He stood besides his compatriots, all with eyes wide as saucers. All afraid.

I looked at them, panting. Still wincing.

_No…… _

These are citizens……

I looked around.

Workers.

Truck drivers.

Kids walking home from school.

Mother clutching their children.

And all of them were frozen.

Looking at me.

Afraid.

I swallowed.

_What's going on here?_

_Don't they know me?_

_Don't they know hi—_

"!"

I spun and looked.

Rancid was running down the sidewalk. He skidded to a turn with a flurry of feet, panted, and dashed down an alleyway.

I clenched my teeth.

_Crapness!_

SWOOOOOOSH! I blurred after him.

The mechanics behind me reached out in vain. "Hey! Stop!"

I ignored them.

I gave chase.

They looked at each other.

"Someone call the Titans!"

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

As soon as I smoked my way into the alleyway, I heard an echoing sound of an engine starting up.

I froze to a stop.

Blinking.

_SCREEEEEECH!_

Rancid in a pickup truck came barreling out at me.

He gripped the wheel frantically, like a panicked gazelle on the run.

It was no consolation to either of us that the alleyway was only wide enough to fit the truck.

"DAAAAH!" he shouted and winced as the unstoppable vehicle bore down on me.

I held my breath. I blurred my feet. With a pulse of murk I ran up a side wall, jumped off it, flipped, and landed-right after the truck passed beneath.

_VRMMMMMM!_

It tore out into the street and throttled down the road.

I took a deep breath.

I gripped Myrkblade in a tight hand of flesh and blurred after him.

SWOOOOOOSH!

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

I pursued Johnny Rancid into the heart of the City.

He swerved around traffic in the rusted pickup truck, trying vainly to lose me. I could see his panicked face in the reflection of his rear mirrors. I kept my distance so as not to force him to do anything drastic that could hurt neighboring traffic.

And then it occurred to me.

_Johnny Rancid is being cautious? _

And……

He's afraid of me?

I blinked as I blurred up a building side and out of view of his rear.

_And how did he get into such a new change of clothes all of the sudden? _

And why were those mechanics defending him as if……

As if……

I took a deep breath.

I jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

Speeding up.

Catching up with the vehicle in the streets below.

_None of this day is making any sense. _

Best that I toss Rancid into jail now and let Smith and the other investigators get information concerning the energy core from him themselves.

I twirled Myrkblade into a stabbing-down position, glanced down, saw Rancid slowing the truck….

And pounced.

SWOOOOOOOSH!

I blurred murk, slowing my descent from seven stories up and-

CRUNCH!

I landed with Myrkblade piercing deep into the engine of the pickup truck.

"JEEZ!" Rancid gasped. He swerved the vehicle left and right.

I held on for dear life.

_SCREEEEECH!_

He jolted the truck to a burning stop in front of a bar.

'_Vincent's Pub'_ it read.

More screeching noises.

Civilian cars jolted to a stop all around us.

The City Street became blocked up with confused, concerned motorists.

Rancid sat frozen in his seat. Panting. Pale and jittery until-

CRAAAACK!

Myrkblade pierced down through the ceiling of the car along side him.

"AHHH!" he jumped.

_CRKKKKKKKK!_

I ripped the top of the car open like a sardine can.

Bright sunlight poured over Rancid's widening eyes.

I frowned down at him and reached in a metal hand.

GRIP!

I flung him out of the car and in front of the wide-stretching windows of 'Vincent's Pub'.

"WHOAAAA-" THUD! "OOOF!"

CHIIIIIIIIING!

I dragged Myrkblade along the sidewalk threateningly.

He winced at the grating sound.

I glared at him, black shades glinting.

I again mouthed: _'What did you do with the capsule?'_

"I give up, man! What do you want! Can't you at least talk?"

THWAP!

"Ugh!"

I slapped him across the face with the blunt side of my sword.

WHUMP!

I slammed my boot over his thigh.

He winced.

I leaned in.

I mouthed: _'Stop playing stupid.'_

"Nnnnngh….," he struggled and winced all over.

I had about had it.

After all the Hell Dagger put this City through…._Rancid was just about to pretend like he raised Hell and could get out of it by being coy?_

I raised Myrkblade to knock his lights out….or at least show him that I could.

If he didn't 'fess up.

But he merely winced…..and then suddenly brightened as he looked at something over my shoulder.

"?" my black eyes thinned under my shades.

And then I heard it.

_**VRMMMMMMMMMMM!**_

A rapidly intensifying rumble of a steel horse from behind my back.

So….gripping Myrkblade…I coldly turned around….

And looked.


	5. Bard: Scars

_"Listen here you yella bellied sonuva bitch! You're going down them stairs one way or another. You're either gonna walk down'em or I'm gonna toss your ass down'em. Choose. Now." - Bard_

It wasn't until I had actually arrived back at Titans Tower did I remember that the Titans weren't there. They were still over at the prison, seeing over the Crimson Wolf transfer. I wanted to find out more about this cannister me and Lisa had found at Star Labs, but it was probably better that the Titans were helping out with Crimson Wolf instead. He'd killed so many already, and if he ever got loose again...

I shuddered. The image of an infant with a shard of glass impaled in its stomach burned in my brain suddenly. I didn't want to think about what other horrors would happen if he ever escaped.

Entering the main room, I took the guitar off my back and leaned it carefully against the wall. Then I took off my coat, revealing the sleeveless black shirt I wore beneath it, and flopped down on the couch. As I relaxed, I looked closely at the cannister, turning it over and over in my hands. It really wasn't very remarkable. It was made out of smooth, gray metal, about a foot long and about as wide as my wrist. How could it be important enough for Kitten to want? It was possible that she simply her laser pistol back, but I doubted that. She worked for Slade now, and, if nothing else, he was efficient. Why steal a weapon from me when he could buy - or steal - another?

Not to mention the fact that Kitten's new laser rifle had a hell of a lot more bang for the buck than my pistol...I knew that from experience.

What was it that Lisa had said Dr. Ray was shouting about...'neighboring universes'? I had absolutely no idea what that meant. But the first thing that popped into my mind was Heaven and Hell. It was pushing it a bit, but I suppose, generally, they could be considered different universes.

And that answered my question. Ever since I had arrived in Jump City, Slade's plan had been to break the barrier between earth and Hell for some unknown purpose. Did he think this cannister could help him with that?

I closed my eyes and tried to think about something else. I'd have to wait for Robin or Cyborg to get back before we could get any definite answers. So I tipped my hat over my face and decided to take it easy for a while.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

**TAP..TAP..TAP..TAP!**

Robin's metal toed boot impatiently tapped against the ground...again and again and again.

"All right, man." Superboy finally piped up when no one else would. "That's starting to get irritating."

"What's taking so long?" The Boy Wonder demanded, refusing to address that. He did, however, stop tapping his foot.

"We have to be patient." _Raven_ told him calmly. "Walker probably told the warden and his men to take extra precautions."

Robin sighed.

"You're right," he turned to the others. "_Raven's_ right. We have to keep our mind's clear for this."

_Beast Boy _grinned.

"Who's 'we', dude? You're the only one here being so-"

Cyborg elbowed the changeling in the ribs with a titanium elbow.

"Ow!"

They waited in silence again until-

**TAP..TAP..TAP.. T-T-TAP!**

_  
"ROBIN!"_ Everyone protested at once, but it wasn't their leader making the noise.

Instead, it was emitting from his communicator. He took it out of his belt and opened it up, but there was no picture on the small LCD screen.

"Who is it, man?" Superboy asked him.

"There's no picture." Robin replied. "But it sounds like-"

**TAP..TAP..TAP.. T-T-TAP!**

"-morse code." He turned to _Raven_. "Does Bard know morse code?"

"I don't know."

"It doesn't matter anyway." Cyborg told them, looking at the screen on his forearm. "The frequency doesn't match with Bard's communicator."

Robin's however, was listening to the morse code message.

"_Titans,"_ The Boy Wonder interpreted for them. "_I lost track of Johnny Rancid. I think he still has the energy core. Can you spare Starfire or Beast Boy for reconnaissance?"_

Robin frowned and, unconsciously almost, tapped back a reply.

_'Energy core? Johnny Rancid? Who is this? How did you get on this frequency?'_

But there was no reply.

"Don't worry about it, dude." _Beast Boy _said. "It's probably some fan with a walkie-talkie playing 'Titans'. Besides, hasn't Rancid 'gone good'?" The changeling held up and bent his narrow, green fingers over his head, quoting.

Robin nodded.

"The judge let him go for good behavior. She seems to really believe he wants to go straight. He's reopened his auto shop downtown."

"It seems quite strange to hear the Rancid is doing the 'day of honest work'." Starfire commented.

Robin shrugged.

"It just goes to show that all people can change for the better."

They all started waiting again.

**TAP..TAP..TAP!**

And Robin started tapping his foot again, despite the Titans' universal groan.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

_I stood in the dark alley across from the small convineient store._

_Dressed from head to toe in black._

_A wool ski mask hiding the features of my face._

_I was sixteen years old, hundreds of miles and two years from Jump City and...and I was a thug._

_"All right, you guys." Big D, dressed similarly, waved us forward. "Let's go."_

_' 'You guys'? Where the hell is this guy from?' I thought._

_I clamped my hand firmly over his shoulder, holding him in place._

_"What gives?" He demanded._

_"Don't you think we should wait for the **cop** to leave before we go?" I pointed to the squad car parked in front of store._

_"...Oh,"_

_"God damn!" Tim swore. "How the hell did **you** get to be a clan master? Remind me to whoop your ass later."_

_Big D glared at my friend and fingered the switchblade in his pocket. Tim shut up...for now, anyway. I saw right away that Big D wasn't a leader: He simply intimidated anyone who questioned him._

_Across the street, I watched the squad car drive away to continue it's rounds. I knew that, unless he got a call, he wouldn't be back until tomorrow. I had watched the place for the last three nights and had the routines firmly in my head. I felt a sudden pang of guilt, since I had told Amber I was sick...but I quickly pushed that aside._

_"All right," I nudged Big D, forcing him to break his glare match with Tim. "All's clear."_

_"Stop touching me, bitch!" He snapped at me._

_A heated reply came unbidden to my lips, but somehow I held it back with clenched teeth. This wasn't the time for fighting._

_"Let's go!" Big D said then._

_"What's the plan?" I asked._

_"Plan?" Big D shrugged. "We'll just go in there like we own the place!"_

_I groaned inwardly. This was **not** going to be fun._

_"Let's go!" Big D started out across the street. Checking out ski masks one last time, Tim and I followed, along with the two boys Big D had brought along with him._

_Our 'leader' didn't even try to be stealthy, he just waltzed into the store._

_"Hey!" The portly man behind the counter voiced an objectection at him. Big D **was** wearing a ski mask, after all, so he was fairly obvious._

_"Shut up, old man." Big D retorted, barely glancing at the man as he looked around...so he didn't see the man reach for something underneath the counter. I moved forward, but Tim was already there._

_**WHACK!**_

_Tim clubbed him across the face with a very large fist. The man stumbled back into the shelves filled with cigarette packs and, taking most of them with him, hit the ground._

_"Stay on him, Tim. And you two," I pointed at Big D's goons. "Watch the door." They didn't look too happy about it, but they did as they were told._

_I leapt over the counter and looked underneath it where the man had reached. There wasn't an alarm...just a shotgun._

_"Shit," I breathed. Big D had come this close to being blasted away; something the janitor would be mopping up in the morning. I picked up the gun and chucked it down an aisle filled with potato chips and canned goods before looking back down at the owner._

_"This will be over before you know it and we'll leave you unharmed." My eyes narrowed behind my ski mask. "But if you try anything stupid again I won't hesitate to-"_

_I was interrupted by a loud, blood curdling scream._

_**"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

_A woman's scream._

_'What the Hell?'_

_"Tim, keep your eye on this fella. You," I pointed at one of Big D's goons who was guarding the door. "Come pry open this cash register and do what we came here for."_

_I leapt back over the counter and headed towards the back of the store. A flight of wooden stairs was to my left, probably leading up to an apartment above the store._

_  
When I got up there, I was met with the sight of a fully clothed Big D crawling on top of a blonde, teenage girl. Her shirt had been ripped halfway off, revealing a lacy white bra. Her frightened eyes grew even more horrified at the sight of me. I reckoned she thought that I was here to 'join the fun'._

_"What the HELL do you think you're doin'?" I raged._

_"Just having...a little...fun!" Big D was still struggling with her for position._

_"Get off her!"_

_"You can have her...after me!"_

_Snarling, I gripped his shirt and flung him across room._

_"I'm gonna kill you!" He threatened me as he got back up to his feet._

_"You can do that later. Now get your ass down those stairs so we can get the hell outta here!"_

_He glared at me, trying to intimidate me. I saw him reach into his pocket..._

_"Listen here you yella bellied sonuva bitch! You're going down them stairs one way or another." I told him, squinting at him like Clint Eastwood. "You're either gonna walk down'em or I'm gonna toss your ass down'em. Choose. Now."_

_I saw his forearm muscles twitch and I knew he was gripping the knife in his pocket. I suddenly became very aware of the blade in my boot..._

_Big D looked around and realized his two boys weren't with him._

_"All right," he muttered. "Let's go..."_

_"Wise decision."_

_Back downstairs, I knew SOMETHING had gone down. Tim's eyes were pissed and one of Big D's boys were just getting to his feet. I opened my mouth to ask what happened...but then I decided I didn't really care. I just wanted to get out of there._

_"You have the money?" I asked the boy I'd told to pry open the cash register. After a quick look at Big D, he nodded and held up a filled bag._

_"Good," I approved, stopping just a moment to steal a pack of cigarettes. "Let's get the hell out of here then!"_

_That's when we all heard the sirens._

_"What the hell?" Big D asked._

_"I reckon someone called'em when they heard the **scream**!" I told him pointedly. I looked at everyone else. "Run!"_

_Of course, this was the part I was good at. My knees came up so high they almost hit my chest and I leaned my torso back aerodynamically. Tim had always told me I ran like Forrest Gump. Well, if that was true...I ran like the wind blows._

_I quickly outdistanced everyone else and, when I felt I was a safe distance away, I leaned forward resting my hands on my knees and sucked in gulps of breath._

_**God, I have to quit smoking...**_

_By about the time I caught my breath, Tim, Big D and his two goons had caught up to me. I saw by his eyes that Big D had his confidence back, probably because he had backup again, and that he was about to say something **he'd** regret._

_"Who the hell do you think you are!" He raged at me._

_My eyes flashed._

_"Someone had to keep it together. You did everything you could to screw it up and get us caught! What the hell were you smokin' when you decided to try to rape that guy's daugter? It screwed up the mission, not to mention rape is about the vilest thing a man can do to someone else!"_

_"Shit! What are you? A god damned priest? You seem to forget who the leader is here!"_

_"Well, ya know what? That's about to change. The first rule of the Ragin' Dragons is that you can challenge for leadership at anytime. I challenge you now!"_

_Tim sucked in a sharp breath and the two others looked at each other cautiously. But I barely saw them. At the moment, I was concentrating on glaring holes through Big D._

_"All right," the clan leader said finally. "It's about time I put you in your place, anyway!"_

_He reached into his pocket and pulled out his glittering switchblade. I reached down and took a similar blade out of my boot as Tim produced a five foot rope. Big D and I glared silently at each other as he tied it around out left wrists._

_"All right, Jon." Tim was giving me a pep talk. "I've never seen anybody better than you at Slash Clash. Just cut this bastard three times and get it over with."_

_Across from me, Big D's two thugs were giving him similar encouragement._

_"Cut his ass, man!"_

_"Yeah, cut this guy a new asshole!"_

_I thought I saw a sly look pass between them, but I had other things to worry about then._

_"HAA!"_

_Big D leapt at me with his switchblade poised in his hands. I leapt out of the way just in the nick of time and swung my own blade._

_**SLASH!**_

_I left a shallow slice across his shoulder._

_"Yeah!" Tim cheered. "Two more to go!"_

_The two other spectator's looked at each other nervously._

_"ARRR!"_

_Big D leapt at me again, his rage blinding his good sense. I pivoted, looped the rope around his wrist and flipped him over painfully on his back._

_**SLASH!**_

_I cut him across the other shoulder...and that's when his two lackeys decided to step in. The leapt at me...but Tim had been ready._

_**KLUNK!**_

_Tim grabbed them by their heads with each of his huge hands from behind and drove their skulls together. The two fell senseless to the ground and I winced, even as Big D climbed back to his feet._

_"You quit?" I asked him_

_"Hraguuh!"_

_He was making it easy. I dodged his tackle and slammed him face first to the ground. I delivered the third and final cut to his back. I had won._

_"Yeah!" Tim cheered. "You're the King of Slash Clash, baby!"_

_I grinned at him and turned back to Big D, who still hadn't moved._

_"Get up," I nudged him in the ribs with one of my cowboy boots. "You're not hurt that bad."_

_"I said get up!" I kicked him over to his back...and was met with the horrible sight of his knife protruding from his chest. Blood stained his dark shirt and he looked up at me with glossy, lifeless eyes._

_He was dead._

_"...**No**..."_

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"-Ah!" I awoke with a start, sweating. I pushed my cowboy hat back up to where it belonged and sat up, trying to catch my breath.

It wasn't the first time I'd had that dream...but it still got to me just the same. That was a dark memory of years ago, when I had been Jonny. I was Bard now.

_I'm Bard now..._

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

I jumped at the unexpected noise before I realized it was just my communicator. I stood up, reached into my coat where I had left it and brought it out.

"Bard, here." I said into it.

_"Bard,_" Robin said from the other end of the line. "_You didn't send us a morse code message earlier, did you?"_

I blinked.

"Um, no..."

_"I didn't think so. Anyway, we need your help again. Reports are coming in that someone's attacking Johnny Rancid. I need you to take care of it."_

"Ya'll are still at the prison?"

Robin's image nodded.

_"I think something might be wrong. I'm going to look into it. You take care of the Rancid situation. Robin out."_

I sighed. Duty was calling Bard's name again. I grabbed my coat, put my hat on more firmly and was on my way.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

When I arrived on the scene, the fight was in from of a bar called 'Vincent's Pub'. A wrecked car was on fire further down the streetWhoever this guy was, he sure was having fun...

That's when I saw him. He had long black hair tied back with a bandanna and a pair of black shades covered his eyes. He was tall with sinewy muscles over a wiry frame.

**CHIIIIIIIING!**

He was dragging a wooden sword across the concrete of the sidewalk towards the downed and wincing Johnny Rancid.

"I give up, man!" Rancid was yelling at his attacker. "What do you want! Can't you at least talk?"

**THWAP!**

The swordsman whopped him upside the head with the flat part of his sword.

I winced even as Rancid did when the dark swordsman slammed his foot down on his thigh. The swordsman leaned in and said something, but I was too far away to hear.

"Nnnnnngh!" Rancid struggled weakly to free himself, and that seemed to piss off the swordsman all the more. He raised his sword high over his head to knock him into oblivion...and that's when the ex-biker saw me.

_Reckon it's time to get to work..._

I gunned my Harley right for him.

**VROOOOOMMM!**


	6. Act One: Sunsets for Smoke

_"I came here to do two things: Smoke cigarettes and kick ass. And I'm out of cigarettes."  
Bard_

_

* * *

_

'_Come get your sunset, cowboy.'  
Noir_

* * *

**-N-N-N-**

CL-CLANK!

The reving of an engine free of the Earth.

"?" I turned completely around.

A thin shadow inked over my dark figures. The image of a flailing brown ponytail glinted in my black shades as I looked up andSHIING!

He descended on me. A cowboy.

_A cowboy?_

Riding a steel motorbike. Its tires spinning hungrily at me like obsidian teeth. There was a shine off of dark spectacles covering hauntingly warm blue orbs.

And...

Time slowed.

**-B-B-B-**

It seemed like God put everything into slow motion as me and my bike hit the peak of our jump, descending an inch at a time. Humming under my breath, I produced a fireball in my hand and tossed it at the bewildered swordsman

**PHOMB**!

The dark-haired fiend suddenly swung a wooden katana up towards the heavens.

**CLANK!**

My fireball was deflected by the flimsy weapon.

My eyes widened under my glasses.

_'If at first you don't succeed...'_

**-N-N-N-**

There was a murmuring to the cowboy's lips. I saw a second flame in concoction, haloing his palm as he descended in slow motion.

CHIIIING! I leaned backtook a breathand jerked Myrkblade to the side.

**PHOMMMB**! The flaming sphere showered down at me in perceivably molasses motion and—

SWOOOOOSH-CLANK! I twirled Myrkblade just right, sending the fireball back at him this time.

**-B-B-B-**

It came within a hair of knocking my head off, but I was able to duck just in the nick of time.

_'That had better not messed up my hat...'_

Below me, as I was getting closer and closer to landing, I saw the dark haired swordsman tense. The tires hit the ground and I hit the brakes and skidded the Harley sideways...right at the swordsman.

WHAM!

Time resumed.

The whole swordsman's body shook as with the impact of a freight train.

Together we skidded—the bike in between us—towards the front window of the pub, made from all—too—real GLASS.

I grunted and tried to hum something and the swordsman was busy trying—in vain—to wrench his sword free and slash at my steel horse when

CL-CLANK!

The bike hit the wall of the building and our boneless, careening bodies were vomited through the air and into

**-N-N-N-**

**CRASSSH!**

the bar.

_SHATTER!_

The offending cowboy and I flew into the pub with a shower of glass. We collapsed through a table where three citizens were playing poker. Beer and pretzels flew as they stumbled up to their feet—cursing and shouting in surprise. The bartenders, pool players, and other random, paying riff-raff of the place gasped and stared at our intrusion with bloodshot eyes as big as saucers.

WH-WH-WHUMP! I rolled to a stop on the floor.

TH-THWUMP! The cowboy collapsed in a sea of glass.

_Vrrrrmmmm……_

The lonely steel bike purred by itself, halfway suspended through the shattered bar front.

"Ugh..." I heard the cowboy mutter.

He shook the cobwebs out of his head and forced his way to his feet. Thick dust billowed everywhere and made his eyes and throat burn. As his eyes came adjusted to the dim place - now considerable lighter with the window gone - he jumped up to his feet just as I did.

"...," I winced. Clutching a few scrapes on my right arm while holding Myrkblade down.

Through the corner of my shades, I became fairly aware of the interior of the Pub. Between the bodies of scattering, shocked patrons I saw an array of wooden tables in the center, with three or four pool tables to the side lit by dust-laden lamps, a slick bark lining the length of the establishment against the far wall...branching towards the front where the wine bottles were stored. An extravagant big screen t.v. stood erect in the corner of the place, displaying some haphazard, testosterone-dripping footage of a wrestling match with blaring speakers. A juke box fought the noise and chaos of startled patrons with a country ensemble of one sort of another. I didn't know.

_Damn spatial sense..._

I wasn't paying much attention to it. I had my black eyes centered on a figure a few feet before me. And as he stood tall and erectshards of glass littering his black dusterI found myself having to tilt my scarred neck up to truly address his eyes.

**-B-B-B-**

I cracked my neck and a bit of shattered glass fell from my shoulders to join it's companions that crackled beneath my boots on the floor. This swordsman was tougher than I thought. His long black hair was in a bit of disarray, but besides that, he looked none the worse for wear.

"I came here to do two things: Smoke cigarettes and kick ass." I paused for dramatic effect, squinting my eyes behind my glasses at him. "And I'm out of cigarettes."

He raised an eyebrow.

Something flickered behind his dark shades.

The swordsman ignored my quip and instead glared behind me, and I glanced quickly to see Johnny Rancid peeking in through the shattered glass window. He let out a frightened yelp and ran away. After what the Swordsman had put him though, I couldn't really blame him…

The Swordsman gripped his blade and moved to head after him.

"You weren't just going to leave, were you?" I asked him, bending my knees slightly to block his path if he tried to get around me. "I reckon that would be impolite of you, now wouldn't it?"

**-N-N-N-**

I frowned.

_I have no time for this. Rancid has the energy core. Not Howdy Doody here._

I placed a hand on his shoulder to shove him away.

In a flash, the cowboy drew his laser pistol from a holster at his side and firmly pressed it under my chin. His eyes barely noticed the 'X' scar on my throat before he said:

"Rule number one: Never EVER touch a cowboy...or his radio. If you have trouble with Rancid, you're gonna have trouble with me."

I blinked.

_Right...uhm..._

_Rancid can wait._

THWACK!

Myrkblade blurred up in half a second.

CLACK!

A hush fell over the murmuring crowd of shocked patrons.

I stood—glaring—with Myrkblade stuck at the end of an upswing.

**-B-B-B-**

As the Swordsman made his move, my finger tensed on the trigger...and nothing happened.

**'The hell...?'**

It wasn't until an awkward, embarassing moment later that I realized I wasn't holding the pistol anymore...and that it was implanted in the ceiling above me.

_'Damn, this guy's quick...'_

"Kick his ass, Bard!" One patron sitting near the door cheered me on.

"Yeah, show'em you can't just attack innocent people in this city!"

"YEEEEEEHHHHOOOOO!" One particularly tipsy patron cheered me on...I think.

The dark-headed sword-wielder glanced at the burly bunch.

_'Bard?'_ he mutely mouthed.

I was a little surprised he didn't know me...But oh well: I'd just introduce myself now.

WHAM!

I connected dead on with his chest with a right, adamantine covered fist. Suprisingly, he didn't fall over or even drop his sword, but he DID slide back about ten feet to stop just before a pool table.

Following up, I leapt high in the air and drew back my fist, ready to smash down on him again.

THWAP!

He slid back against the pool table, wincing.

His hidden eyes thinly opened under glinting black shades.

He saw my body flying at him. A raised fist with hard-as-stone knuckles interlaced around my fingers.

He took a breath.

CHIIIIIING!

He aimed a razor-sharp sword tip up at my plunging torso.

_'Shit!'_

I was about to impale myself on the fella's sword! Humming quickly, I summoned up the wind and closed my eyes in a wince...and when I reopened them, I was hanging in midair, the sharp edge of the once wooden sword poise and inch from my chest.

I sweatdropped.

**-N-N-N-**

I stared at him.

He stared at me.

A blink and a sweatdrop.

And a simper...

TH-THWISH! Myrkblade twirled and—

WHAM!

I struck him hard with the broad side of my sword.

**-B-B-B-**

My trenchcoat flapped around me as I flew back through the air until, by luck, the bar broke my fall...against my spine.

"Oof!"

So he wanted to use a weapon, huh? I could play that game. I reached around beneath my coat to the small of my back and produced the collasible staff Robin had given me all those weeks ago.

SNKKKT!

I twirled it over my head and leapt back in the fight.

"Haugh!"

**-N-N-N-**

I watched him charge at me past a row of half-drunk, cheering citizens.

He twirled the staff over his head like...like...

Someone I once knew.

_Not funny._

CHIIING!

I raised Myrkblade right as he came on me.

**-B-B-B-**

CLANK!

My arm jolted from the shockwaves of his block. I had thought that sword of his wooden, but it was sharp enough to skewer and hard enough to block a metal staff. What the hell was up with that?

I spun, my trenchcoat following behind me and directed the tail end of the staff at the backs of his knees.

He bit his lip.

Backflipped...

And perched on the edge of a pool table.

THWIIISH! He jabbed at my forehead.

_'Sh-'_

I didn't even have time to formulate the curse in my head. Quickly summoning up the wind song, I leaned back Matrix style with a pillar of air holding me up and watched the sword thrust right over my nose.

He froze in mid-lunge. Blinking.

A silently held my breath among all the numb, male inhabitants of the room.

One second. Two.

Three...

I smirked.

WHAP!

I kicked him up in the air, caught him coming down, pivoted and slammed him through a bar table.

CRASH!

I glanced over at the wide screen TV where a pro wrestling match was going on.

_'Who says wrestling's fake?' _

**-N-N-N-**

I gritted my teeth.

Hobbling up to my feet with Myrkblade.

"Yeah! Ha ha! You show 'em, Bard!" a bearded fellow from beyond my ring of splinters shook his beer.

"Slam him where it counts!"

I frowned.

**FWOOOOOSH!**

I jerked my limbs down.

A veil of smoke poured out of my shades, down my shoulders, and enveloping my sword in black obsidian.

**CHIIIIING!**

"...," the patrons blinked.

Sneering, I icily turned around.

Smoke wavered out from my face and torso like onyx mist as I stared back at the cowboy.

Myrkblade teetering beside me like a burning pendulum.

**-B-B-B-**

I blinked owlishly.

_'I think I pissed him off...' _

Splinters and dust scattered from a falling veil of smoke.

He gritted his teeth and leaned forward at me.

I saw metal fingers clenching at his side.

**-N-N-N-**

I seethed at the cowboy.

Forgetting Rancid.

Forgetting the energy core.

Forgetting everything going on in that dark, gloomy world outside where the Titans and I risked our neck for a living.

_This has not...been...my...**DAY!**_

SWOOOOOOOOOSH!

I blurred at him, dragging Myrkblade alongside me and scraping sparks off the ground.

SNKKKKKKKKKKTTTT!

I rocketed across the bar, shredded two tables in half with the blade as it swam a warbling current of hot smoke straight at the cowboy's cranium.

SLASSSSSSH!

The cowboy's blue eyes widened.

SLASSSSSHHH!

He ducked just in time, losing just a tad smidgeon of hair from where his ponytail swooped up from underneath his hat.

But I didn't stop there.

Slash-clank!

Slash-clank!

I threw a furry of jabs and strikes at him with my blade and, though he was somehow able to block with his staff, he was being steadily pushed back. He suddenly risked a glance behind him. There was nowhere else for him to retreat. He'd come to a blank wall with a jukebox standing against it.

**-B-B-B-**

THWAP!

He kicked me up into the air like a ragdoll.

My hat floated up off my head.

'_God bless it!'_

He held his breath, 'blurred' his body, and spun three three-sixties with the wooden sword outstretched.

SWOOSH-SWOOSH-SWOOSH!

WH-WH-WHAP! My torso jolted from each blow.

The hat miraculously fell back onto my head.

'_Oh……why thanks, God.'_

He spinned one last time and—

WHUMP!

Shouldered me hard towards the wall.

'_Oof!'_

My back hit hard against the jukebox, and I heard the record change from the jolt. The swordsman followed right after me, and I barely had time to lift my staff before-

Clank!

He was right in my face, my face reflecting off his sunglasses as his sword bit into my staff. I struggled to keep the sharp edge of the weapon away from my face. Behind me, a new song started up.

#Prop me up, beside the jukebox if I die...#

_'Not the song I want to hear right now...!' _

"You've got to be the weirdest villain I've ever faced." I breathed as I struggled against him. "Even Slade gloats when he has a superhero...on the ropes...Haugh!"

With a heave, I forced him back. If nothing else, at least I was a LITTLE stronger than he was...

**-N-N-N-**

WHUMP!

I slid back from him and the juke box.

And I was numb.

But not by his shoving heave, but rather by his ramblings.

_Slade?_

_The hell?_

_Who let the sanitarium out early this year?_

I contemplated one second too long in my daze.

_Rancid sure chooses the wackiest of sidek—_

**PHOOMB!**

**PH-PHOOOMB!**

The patrons finally screamed and ran out of the wrecked pub.

_From what?_

I snapped out of it just in time to be blinded by two fireballs.

_Aw Hell._

He streaked at me on a current of wind, two fireballs poised in his hands. He had the sudden, heated energy of a warrior fighting for his life. I didn't give much of a thought as to how carefully he avoided the fleeing citizens with his 'magic' as he ran a collision course with my figure.

I twirled Myrkblade at ready.

I slid a left foot forward.

Concentrating...black eyes thin...

Until he was all my eyes could see, that is…

"!"

**-B-B-B-**

Wham!

We collided, flame meeting smoke in a momumental explosion. We tumbled and slid into a wall just beside the door that, or so the sign above it informed me, was to the bathroom.

FLUSH!

A man walked out, drying his hands on the front of his shirt.

"Get a room." He muttered before walking out the door into the street, apparently not noticing any of the destruction around him.

THWAP!

The swordsman kicked me off him. I could've almost kissed him for that, but then I realized why I wanted him to kick me off him in the first place...

He vaulted up to my feet with a pulse of his murk stuff.

I stood up wearily before the big screen t.v. set in the corner.

**"He's going all out for the belt now, folks!"**

His teeth snarled. Again….mute.

SWOOOOSH!

He blurred at me, his sword twirling and summoning up black energy for in preparation for an upswing.

I got my staff ready just in time to catch his attack as he blurred at me with those weird smoke powers of his...But the attack was stronger than I thought.

CLANKSWISH!

My staff went flying through the air. Glancing up, I hummed under my breath.

SWOOSH!

Wind dislodged my pistol from the ceiling and brought it to my outstretched hand.

_'Time to run, bastard!'_

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

**-N-N-N-**

I skidded to a blurring stop.

Sweatdropping.

PIFFT! CRACK! THRACK!

The floor exploded around me.

I backflipped as laser blasts trailed after my figure like photogenic popcorn.

Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!

The cowboy paced across the room, firing expertly with the gun resting over a horizontal forearm.

P-P-PING! I dove and knelt behind a pool table.

Panting.

_Frickin' deadshot for a four-eyes!_

CRACK!

A corner of the pool table exploded over my black head of hair from a laser blast.

_Allright..._

SWOOOSH!

I twirled up to my feet. With a smoke-laden boot I slammed my lower limb up into the table's underside.

WHUMP!

Four pool balls lifted ceiling-ward from the green felt.

I twirled Myrkblade.

_From Beast Boy with love, Ump!_

THWACK!

I knocked all four airborne pool balls at him.

THWOOOOSH!

**-B-B-B-**

Four pool balls streaked at me...

#Why can't I free you doubtful mind, and melt your cold, cold heart?#

An ice shield materialized in front of me just as the hastily sung lyric finished rolling off my lips. It blocked three of the balls, but the fourth one had too much momentum...

ShatterSmack!

It hit me in the pit of the stomach. I bent over sharply and gulped for breath.

In the meantime, the swordsman across the way took a deep breath.

He jumped up, grabbed the dangling green lamp above the pool table, swung like some kind of agile, kickass monkey and leapt off.

With a flip he landed into a slide, twirled the katana, built up smoke, and turned his momentum into a blurring charge at my stumbling figure.

_'Is this God's way of punishing me for smoking?'_

I looked up just in time to see him blurring at me. Mostly out of instinct, I pivoted around him and used his own momentum to fling him against the bar.

"Lights out!"

I holstered my pistol and conjured up two fireballs, running straight for him.

**-N-N-N-**

CLACK!

My sword flew from my flung body and slid to the opposite end of the bar.

"!"

_Daah! Jeez!_

In the meantime, I tumbled, rolled, ragdolled, and ended up with my back against the bar and my butt on the floor.

I winced.

I looked up at him.

PHOMB!

My black eyes widened at the painful light of an incoming fireball.

SWOOSH-GRIP! I grabbed the top rim of the bar and flipped up.

CRACK!

The first fireball exploded into a pair of bar stools, shattering them into ashes and splinters.

The cowboy still came at me.

I perched on the edge of the bar. Panted. Looked around. And grabbed an opened whiskey bottle….

He kept the other fireball in his hand, intending to give me a flaming punch. He knew the same as I knew that there was no way I was gonna fend off a pyrokinetic cowboy with a whiskey bottle….

So I drunk a mouthful and immediately spat it back out at the cowboy's flaming hand.

_Heh…_

PTFFFT!

**-B-B-B-**

PHOOSH!

I was in engulfed in flame for a brief, terrible instant. When it was gone, I brought my hands up to my face make sure my eyebrows were still there...but something was still wrong. I felt extremely warm for some reason. I looked down and comically realized my trenchcoat was on fire.

_'Shit!' _

There was a flapping sound like a squadron of penguins trying to take off as I spun around and batted my hands at the fire on my outfit. I didn't think about using a water or ice song because...well..._I was on fire!_

SWOOSH!

The stranger jumped off the bar counter and made to run for his blade...but instead stumbled into a table.

THWUMP!

He winced and leaned against it.

Shaking his head...

Dizzy...

But soon he tossed the tipsiness off and stumbled in vain towards his sword within the vicinity of the widescreen t.v.

In the hilarious meantime: "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Batting my coat wasn't working. I tossed it to the ground, leaving my torso clad only in a sleeveless black shirt, and started jumping on the blaze with my cowboy boots.

I finally got the blaze put out...but my coat was ruined. On the back, I saw the once white cross design that had adorned it's back blackened and smoking.

_'I LIKED that coat!'_

Snarling, I looked up and saw the swordsman clamoring over to retrieve his dropped sword.

As I leapt at him, he tripped and fell to his hands and knees. When I got to him, I didn't punch, grab or even kick him...Instead, I pulled out a dirty tactic and stomped on his hand with my cowboy boot.

THWOMP!

**'What a cheap, underhanded manuever!'** A southern twanged announced from the TV called out.

The swordsman opened his mouth to let out a yelp of pain...but nothing came out. Either he was tough as nails or-

I picked him up by the back of his shirt, pivoted and flung him back across the room...into the jukebox.

"How do you like it?"

**-N-N-N-**

ScraaaaapeTHWAP!

I slid into the juke box.

#I wanna go to heaven, but I don't wanna go toniscrkkkk!#

The whole thing shook from my impact.

Crackling speakers.

A hissing.

The middle of a Simon and Garfunkel song played.

#and touched the sound of silence.#

I rubbed my red and bruised knuckles.

My black eyes stared at the combatant who stood between me and my sword.

_...yeah._

SWOOOOSH!

I blurred towards him, gained speed, and ran right at his face as my body converted into smoke form.

**-B-B-B-**

The jukebox switched to another song that...I definitely didn't like. But it seemed to hearten the villain. Maybe country music was his kryptonite or something...

He blurred at me. I spread my feet and held up my adamantine covered fists, waiting to meet his charge.

SWOOOSH!

His face blurred through my fist in parting smoke.

"Holy sh-"

WHAM!

He crushed his elbow into me THROUGH my fist. What was this guy made out of, smoke?

I stumbled back once, twice, but somehow managed to stay on my feet. But the swordsman was already blurring at me again.

**-N-N-N-**

FWOOOSH!

I slid between his legs in black steam.

Solidified, kicked his right ankle.

THWAP!

He stumbled.

I swiped up Myrkblade from the ground.

Twirled it.

Blurred at him.

THWACK!

Flew past him with a sword strike.

FWOOOSH!

Teleported.

Solidified in front of him.

THWACK! Struck him across the chest.

FWOOOSH!

Teleported.

Solidified to his side.

SLASH!

Ripped a gash in his black shirt.

FWOOOSH!

Teleported.

Solidified behind him with a boot to his rear end.

THWUMP!

And a resounding upswing of Myrkblade across his back.

WHACK!

**-B-B-B-**

I fell hard on my face, tasting the copper tang of blood on my lip. I might be stronger, but he was a HELL of lot faster than me. Had he been taking lessons from Zillah or something?

But I was a cowboy, and cowboys sure as hell don't stay down...not if the sun is going to rise tomorrow. I unsteadily made it back to my feet and, trying to buy a little recuperative time, I asked:

"Isn't this the part where you say: 'You're finished, cowboy'?"

**-N-N-N-**

I slumped forward and leaned on Myrkblade.

Panting.

_This guy..._

_He refuses to go down._

_What in the freakin' Heck...?_

I gulped.

I stared up at him.

Panting.

Sweat running down my scarred neck.

Mute.

**-B-B-B-**

As we stood there panting, watching each other, I finally noticed the 'X' scar on his throat again. Maybe he couldn't

"All right, damn it, say something! I can't stand fighting a bad guy who doesn't have smart-aleck quips! I know you have some! I'm a _cowboy_! That's a pretty easy target!"

He seemed to glare at me more intensely.

And he 'spoke' with the middle finger of his metal hand.

My eyes flashed.

_'Why that sonuva-'_

**PHOMB!**

I reared back like a major league pitcher and tossed a orange, roaring fireball straight for him.

SWOOOOOSH-**FLASH!**

His hidden eyes bugged beneath his shades.

His metal hand was on fire.

He gritted his teeth and struggled to put it out.

Hobbling and twirling in front of the wide screen t.v.

**"Oh my goodness! I've never seen anything like it!"**

I smirked at him.

_'Serves you right...'_

I gave him a second to realize the error of his ways..then decided to teach him another lesson. So preoccupied with his arm, he didn't see me coming until the last second...

GRIPSHATTER!

I flung him straight into the widescreen TV.

**-N-N-N-**

CRAAAACK!

ZZZZZZT!

My body jolted and shook from the sparks as they convulsed through me.

And I felt a horrifically freezing sensation.

Something familiar and pulling in.

Like a vortex.

A black hole pulling me in just the same way it had so recently spat me out.

THWUMP!

I landed on the floor from the sparking t.v. set, twitching. Vibrating all over.

The sparks danced higher.

The sprinkler system of the Pub went off.

It started to rain indoors.

**-B-B-B-**

Waters cascaded in a steady stream off the bill of my cowboy hat, obscuring my vision. But I could see that the swordsman was trembling and vibrating all over...The TV must have shocked him. I figured he was down for the count, so I reached down to put his hands behind his back.

**-N-N-N-**

Wincing, I tilted my head warily upwards in the wet domain.

I saw with blinding clarity the figure of the cowboy.

The water trickling off him like deflated wings.

The vividness of his blue eyes under the fogged glasses and the brown hair turned slick and dripping with humanity.

All these things...telling me that my shades had fallen off.

**-B-B-B-**

I jumped back and dropped my cuffs...I couldn't help it. He had no pupils at all: His eyes were completely, utterly, soullessly black.

Smoke trailed out of them, dancing with the rain.

He let out a mute hiss.

His arms shifted in his grasp.

Slowly, his lips moved in a mute fashion that even I could 'read': _'Take a good...long...look...'_

FWOOOOSH!

His whole body vaulted up in smoke form.

"Shit!" I swore out loud... and it seemed like the hundredth time I'd said the word that day. I should have cuffed him when I had the chance...as if handcuffs would do any good against someone who could turn his body to smoke. And speaking of that devil:

He turned to smoke form and wafted up like mist. I swung a fist at it, but my arms simply went through it. Like a ghost.

**-N-N-N-**

I flipped back, landed in a slide, and twirled Myrkblade.

TH-TH-THWISH!

I held the blade up against the water.

Panting.

My shoulder being batted on all sides by the sprinkling stream.

I thinned my black eyes to let in the least amount of light possible.

I didn't think about Rancid anymore. Or the power core. Or the confusing, bright world outside.

Everything had perpetually, inexplicably narrowed itself down between me and this...this...

_Warrior..._

Tall, bright visage.

Dark frame.

Bloody fury.

_What part of the Spectrum did he lean to?_

I frowned.

I twirled Myrkblade again and struck a meditative pose. I aimed my metal hand at him, turned the palm around, and motioned him towards me with my fingers.

_Come get your sunset, cowboy._

**-B-B-B-**

I watched him with awed eyes. He couldn't be human...but he was. He was something in between, maybe. Like a demon...or even a ghost.

For some reason, those black eyes chilled me. Like he could see into my very soul.

But those black eyes or not...I was gonna take him to the woodshed.

**-N-N-N-**

I took a deep breath.

Glaring.

Summoning murk.

Pouring it into my blade.

Charging.

Charging...

**-B-B-B-**

Smoke warbled around the swordsman's form. He was charging up, building up strength for one last round. I realized that this wasn't a fight against a petty criminal anymore. This was deadly serious.

I took in a deep breath, invisible air twirling around me like a miniature tornado...

The falling water between us parted and collected into two vortexes of twirling drops.

The dust and glass shards and debris of the Pub shook and shifted like opposite poles of a dirt magnet.

The very elements fought in the air between us: Earth, water, smoke, even fire and electricity crackled forth from the ruined television. I tensed every muscle in my body, my adrenaline pumping but my mind clear.

"Haugh!"

Faster than ever before, my conjured wind pushed me towards the swordsman.

**-N-N-N-**

I gritted my teeth and blurred at him.

Splash-Splash-Splash-Splash!

SWOOOOOSH!

We came together, going all out at each other. The wild, powerful blows of a street brawler against the steady, meditated strikes of a martial artist.

CL-CL-CLACK!

THWOOOSH!

I swung low at his feet.

He jumped and flung a fireball down at my midframe.

**PHOMB!**

I deflected barely.

CLANK!

I stumbled back and twirled Myrkblade to greet his adamantine fist.

SCRRRKKKK!

Sparks flew. His 'knuckles' scraped against the length of my sword and nearly sent me spiraling.

WHUMP! I flew my knee up at him and slashed Myrkblade.

He ducked.

I snarled mutely and swung my metal fist.

**-B-B-B-**

I caught his metal appendage and tried to throw him over my shoulder, but he somehow pivoted in midair, spun and brought both of his feet right into my face.

WHACK!

I stumbled back into the wall, where cue sticks hung on a wooden holder. Quickly grabbing one, I reared back and flew back at him, poised to clobber him.

"….," he waited.

I swung with every once of strength I had in my body. The wooden cue stick whistled through the air as it arced at the side of his head.

**-N-N-N-**

I blocked hard with Myrkblade.

CLACK!

Feet wobbling.

I winced.

_Nnngh...such power._

_D-Definitely...C-Construction!_

And I jolted.

For I again felt that pulling feeling.

The coldness.

Something sucking me in.

I hissed through clenched teeth and my defense against the pool cue gave way.

**-B-B-B-**

The swordsman blocked my makeshift staff with his sword, but he didn't have enough strength to hold it off forever.

WHACK!

The cue stick broke through his defense and smacked him just above the temple. He spun like a top and landed in the remains of a table we had already broken earlier in our struggle.

He groaned and winced all over.

Blood trickled down his sides.

Panting, he looked up.

I couldn't make the same mistake twice. He was down, and I had to take him out now. With a fighter like this, I might not get the chance again. I leapt, hummed, and electricity arced and danced across my adamantine knuckles.

"HAugh!"

**-N-N-N-**

I weakly raised Myrkblade up.

The jolt.

_Nnngh!_

My black eyes squinted.

_What...is...h-happening!_

**FLASH!**

I let out a silent scream as the bright energy erupted out from me.

It ran down the coursing currents of my smoke and shot along the length of my sword.

**ZAAAATT!**

Nothing...

I opened my black eyes.

The 'bard' was gone.

All that remained was a silent, wet, wrecked Pub.

I panted...panted...panted...

And lowered my sword arm.

PLOP!

I lay bruised and ragged and wet in the splinters of the table.

Blinking.

_Well then..._

_'Huzzah'..._

"Nnnngh!"

I started.

I stumbled to my knees and stared across the bar.

At the one last table left standing, a drunken patron stirred. He hiccuped, pointed at the abandoned bar, and snapped his finger. "Bartender! Another one! Hic-On the rocks!"

Silence.

He frowned.

"Pfft...fine! Be that way! HIC! I know when I'm over the limit" PLOP! "ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz..."

I blinked.

I crawled over, picked up my damp shades, put them on, and shuddered.

_All right..._

I stood up.

_Where was I?_

I looked around.

The wrecked walls, ceiling, and floor.

The soggy splinters everywhere.

The chaos.

_Nowhere..._

I gazed out the bright interior.

The abandoned bike was still humming, sputtering.

_Absolutely...nowhere._


End file.
